


A Grounding Experience

by Absent_Enigma



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A certain someone is a major tsundere, Acceptance, Accidental Bonding, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Blue is not sheltered and refuses to be babied, Bonding Time, Everyone Has Issues, First Dates, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Is addressed and fixed, Lack of Communication, Magic and Science, Mix of ic and ooc, Multi, Not everything is perfect in the world, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Red won’t keep his mouth shut, Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Skeleton kisses, Terrible First Impressions, Who am I kidding everyone needs a hug, but with au characters popping in, especially axe, give him all the hugs and affection, if need be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25139167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Absent_Enigma/pseuds/Absent_Enigma
Summary: You are not sure what to make of the sudden turn your life had taken. This was not how you planned to spend your days in between jobs, but you sure can’t say that your life is boring anymore.Aka how in the world did you suddenly end up in the monster equivalent of marriage to three skeleton monsters within the span of a few confusing minutes? At least two of the skeletons took this unexpected situation well. The third skeleton did not, apparently taken with the idea of metaphorically burning you to a crisp with his eye lights, as if this situation was somehow entirely your fault.In your defense, you didn’t mean to intentionally tie yourself to anyone, since you had no idea what was going on. And no one bothered to fully explain to you how bonds worked until even more skeleton monsters began to show up.(FYI, slapping a hiatus on this fic for now due to the cat and dog tearing through my paper outline. Being a little discouraged trying to piece things back together again).
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Papyrus (underfell)/reader, Sans (Horrortale)/Reader, Sans (Underswap)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 52
Kudos: 233





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of years late to the party, but I thought, why the hell not give this fic a go that’s been sitting in a notebook for awhile? There’s so many sans/reader, etc fics, after all. I figured it would be good practice, writing-wise, to try something a little different.  
> (Moved original end note to second chapter so it doesn’t repeatedly show up at the end of each chapter).

Being out of a job for nearly an entire year sucked. 

Despite the college degree you had under your belt and a few years worth of experience, you had had no luck yet.  


You knew that you had to keep trying, but the uselessness of it all was starting to get to you. All those applications and little to no results for those hours you spent sending them in.   


There had to be _something_ out there, right?

It didn’t matter that a lot of places were clearly trying to incorporate monsters into their businesses.

Eventually, you would find a job.

You just had to ignore the dwindling money in your bank account that payed for your apartment.   


Reaching up, you stretched your arms and let out a slow sigh before squinting up at a clock.

It was getting late into the evening, and you had yet to go out for some groceries after your hours-long marathon of job application submission. It was better to go sooner rather than later. Luckily for you, the grocery store was within walking distance, and you still had plenty of daylight time left.

Not that you were afraid of the dark or anything.

Getting up from the chair with a put upon sigh, you linger in front of your closet mirror. You decide that sweat pants and sweatshirt would do for an evening of grocery shopping.

Joy.

Going out into public was one of your least favorite activities but it was a necessary evil, since you didn’t have the option to order things online in this area of the city. It was mainly monster-run businesses with a smattering of human ones, which was why your chose this area. The rent was on the cheaper end.

Monsters had been on the surface for years now, but there was still the lingering fear in a good number of humans that still skewed some things in the world.

Namely, violence.

Luckily, that kind of trouble wasn’t a problem in the area of the city you lived in.

Hopefully.

It wasn’t like you wandered around outside your apartment at night to test that theory, and you weren’t about to start now.

Focus.

You couldn't let your mind dwell on too many things at once right now.

Groceries.

Go get groceries, and then go to bed.

Emboldened with an easy plan, you put on worn sneakers, and left your apartment, being mindful of your surroundings as you locked up and headed down the stairs. The elevator was temporarily out of order but at least it was only three flights of stairs. You wouldn’t get too many groceries. Just enough to tide you over until the next trip.

Outside, it was a quiet autumn evening, humans and monsters few and far between. This was definitely your preferred amount of interaction, walking by others occasionally, with everyone minding their own business.

Until you suddenly found that you couldn’t mind _your_ own business.

A loud one-sided shouting match was taking place in the park across from your apartment. Ordinarily, you would keep to yourself, but your emotional state was in a bit of disarray. Especially when the scene reminded you of the news you had watched earlier. That there was still human against monster violence taking place, despite how smoothly the integration had been going for the past several years.

To see two monsters about to come to blows in the park?

It was the last straw and something inside of you snapped at the sight of the tall, skeletal monster sending jagged red bones at another skeleton half their size. The tall skeleton monster was all jagged edges, including the jaw that held sharp teeth. There was even a scar gouged over the bone of one eye socket. You found it off putting that the skeleton was dressed in armor, with clawed red gloves and a tattered red scarf around the neck...bone? The skeleton monster looked like they ought to be in the monster royal guard that people liked to gossip about online.

So...if that was true...why was this skeleton monster attacking one of his own kind?

You appraised the shorter skeleton monster, who was dressed in a blue jacket with a fuzzy hood, a white shirt and black gym shorts. And were those...pink slippers? You couldn’t help but flash a quick smile that the shorter skeleton was, in fact, wearing pink slippers, with socks. You looked the shorter monster over again, this time noting this one seemed rounder in stature, without any cracks in the bones. He also wore a great big grin across his face, like he found the other monster attacking him hilarious.

Or was it just the fixed grin?

You weren’t sure, but the shorter skeleton’s eye sockets were squinting a little, the eye lights flickering a little.

Weird.

You supposed you didn’t know anything about skeleton monsters and how they expressed themselves, so you weren`t sure what flickering eye lights meant.

”edge, you need to calm down.” The shorter skeleton`s voice was raised, his hands in his pockets as he dodged another set of jagged red bones.

Edge?

You glanced at the scary skeleton monster and supposed the name fit.

”CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN?!” Edge’s voice was loud and brash. "I REFUSE TO REMAIN IN THE SHADOWS JUST BECAUSE THIS IS NOT MY HOME. WHAT MEASURES ARE YOU TAKING THAT ARE ACTUALLY OF ANY USE, TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR MYSELF AND MY BROTHER? AND THE OTEHRS?”

”you think throwin’ a fit in broad daylight where anyone can see you is a good idea?” The other skeleton asked. 

"IT`S ALMOST NIGHTTIME!" Edge all but growled as even more sharp bone attacks manifested, his red eye lights reflecting a fury even from a distance away.

You unfroze and did something incredibly foolish. You blamed it on lack of sleep as you forgot all about groceries and instead ran across the empty street and into the park, toward the skeleton monsters. You were positive the shorter one saw you, but you were focused on Edge, since he seemed to be the problem.

What you had thought you were going to do was a moot point, since Edge noticed you immediately.

“SEE? YOU HAVE EVEN DRAWN A HUMAN INTO THIS DEBACLE, BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO SEE REASON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. THIS WAS NOT A CONVERSATION TO HAVE IN A PUBLIC SPACE.” Edge snapped at the shorter skeleton, before one gloved hand shot out and forcefully shoved you to one side before you could even hope to stumble to a halt. “STAND ASIDE, HUMAN! THIS DOES NOT CONCERN YOU.”

From a childhood of too many action movies and video games, your hands shot out and grabbed the same arm Edge had used to shove you with by the wrist. This was done in a split second, if only to prevent yourself from falling over to the ground. But this didn’t prepare you for the larger skeleton monster to absolutely freak out over you touching him.

”WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, HUMAN?” Edge demanded, as he hoisted his arm into the air, taking you with it. "YOU CANNOT HOPE TO FACE ME IN A BATTLE WITH YOUR ABYSMAL STATS."

Holy hell was this monster strong, despite being all bones.

Dangling in the air with the threat of violence, you act further foolishly and swung your legs up to lock around Edge’s upper arm. This drew a funny noise out of the skeleton monster before the fury tumbled out, even as you determinedly clung to Edge like a limpet.

Edge snarled something wordlessly as his free hand came up, clutching a jagged red bone. 

Well, shit.

You hadn’t thought about being the one injured here.

Luckily, the shorter skeleton monster did something to halt Edge’s attack, causing the taller skeleton to crane his head down to bare sharp teeth at the other monster.

”Stop it.” You suddenly grit out, seeing the shorter skeleton do something to make Edge snap his teeth together. “Both of you, stop! Someone’s going to get hurt!”

”AND THAT SOMEONE WILL BE YOU, IF YOU DO NOT UNHAND ME, HUMAN!" Edge spat out dangerously. "I WON'T HESITATE."

“hey, what were ya told about humans in this city, boss?” A new voice suddenly drawled. "and sans. the hell did ya say teh set him off?"

You craned your head to the side and found yet another skeleton. He was around the same height and stature as the shorter skeleton, whose name was apparently Sans, who had been facing off with Edge.

Thie other skeleton that had just arrived had sharp fangs, with one golden one and wore a black jacket with a furred hood and a red sweater beneath it. The skeleton seemed highly amused with the scene before him. He stood a short distance away, and looked at both you and Edge, red eye lights reflecting mirth as he let out a snicker.

"really _stuck_ on you, ey boss?" Red offered. To you, he added. "hate teh tell ya, but bein' a weight on my bro's arm ain't gonna do squat. Better off tryin' ter kick him."

Edge finally couldn’t seem to stand your touch any longer, redoubling his efforts to throw you off despite the magic that Sans used on him to prevent his other arm from moving.

Something subtle had begun to ripple between you, Sans and Edge, before an odd stinging sensation hit you. Apparently, the sensation struck not only you but the two skeleton monsters, both jolting as though burned. And since you experienced the jolt as well, you lost your grip on Edge`s arm and fell down. You were higher up than you thought, which caused you to stumble when your feet hit the grass. Unable to stay upright, you ended up falling backward onto your ass.

“whoops.” Sans said into the silence that followed, before warily eying you. “uh...seems like we somehow formed a link between the three of us, despite you not knowin’ us.” The short skeleton stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, shifting from foot to foot. “sorry about that. it was kind of...instinctive.”

Edge’s jaw opened and shut wordlessly, as if he couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.  


“aw, that’s a shame.” Red said with a shit-eating grin. “i wouldna minded a ‘lil bonding action.”

You didn't understand what was going on, reeling from how rapidly things were happening around you.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Edge chose that very moment to explode into another rage, apparently beyond furious with whatever had just occurred.  


“WE DID _WHAT_ WITH THE HUMAN?!”

“i think i can undo it before-“ Sans brought up a hand between the three of you and made a vague gesture. 

You suddenly felt a sharp pang in your chest.  


From the twitch of Edge’s stance, he did too, though you got the feeling he didn’t want it to show.

”well, that’s not good.” Sans commented.

”THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I REFUSE TO BE A PART OF THIS ANY LONGER!” Edge spun on his heel, getting about three long strides away. "WHEN YOU'RE READY TO SPEAK, INFORM ME." It was clear Edge was ready to storm off, until suddenly, he was driven to his knees by something unseen.

“boss!” Red was suddenly standing next to the taller skeleton.  


You blinked at this, perplexed.  


What had just happened, and why had there a corresponding pang in your chest when Edge went down?

Edge let out a tirade of unintelligible words before he pushed Red aside and stomped back over to you and Sans. The scarred skeleton loomed close as he crossed his arms and glared at the pair of you.  


“bond wants to solidify before we can have our space.” Sans provided, as a response to what had apparently been an unasked question.

You felt you should have anticipated Edge’s swift,  violent response.

“I REFUSE TO BE SADDLED WITH A HUMAN _AND_ A WEAKER VERSION OF MY OWN BROTHER!” 

What did _that_ mean?

You jolted over Red suddenly being in front of you and offering a hand without looking at you. You took the offered hand, fascinated by bone flexing under your skin as you were helped to your feet. Taking your eyes off Edge, you focused on Red, and saw that he now looked more nervous than before. There was no argument about moving out of harm’s way. You gave Red a confused look. This wasn’t as far away as you thought it ought to be.

”can’t go any further than this, darlin.' unless ya wanna feel yer soul in agony again?” Red pointed a bony finger at Edge as he released a flurry of jagged red bones. “it was bad enough that it took boss to his knees.”

You shivered and pressed a hand to your chest. No, you did not want to feel that again. With nothing else to do, you turned your attention to the other two skeletons, who were back in a fight that you had initially hoped to prevent.

But it didn’t last for very long.

Sans appeared to be able to dodge Edge’s attacks with ease, though when it looked like Sans was tiring out, his left eye socket suddenly glowed cyan.

You gaped as Sans somehow managed to lift the other skeleton monster off the ground, leaving Edge to hang in midair. But you could see that he wasn’t done putting up a fight, as Edge continued to struggle, swiping his hands uselessly in Sans’ direction.

“hey, boss, meybe we should have that talk now?” Red ventured, only to shut up when those eye sockets narrowed, red eye lights fixed on him malevolently.

You watch all of this going down, not entirely sure what was going on. But you didn’t run.

For now.

Whatever that pang in your chest was would have to go away first.  


This was _not_ how you pictured your evening going, but at the same time, you could no longer say that nothing crazy happened in your life. 

Monsters being real didn’t count, since everyone experienced that. 

You personally interacting with and having this be one of your first encounters with monsters up close?

That was crazy.

You held back as Sans and Red approached Edge, their voices low as until they finally managed to reason with the larger monster still suspended in midair. At the very least, it appeared like whatever had been said placated Edge, and he became less angry than before. If you didn’t know any better, Edge almost seemed to be afraid of you, instead of vice versa. You found the taller monster to be quite intimidating. Especially from the way Edge looked over you when you first tried to prevent a fight.

”SANS! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE HEADED HOME?"

Another monster?

”heya, papyus.” Red said, pointed teeth tugging up into a grin again. "ya missed the show.”

“SHOW? WHAT SHOW?” Papyrus looked lost.

You took the chance to inspect this new skeleton monster. He was wearing a shirt with `cool' in caps across the chest, blue jeans, and what appeared to be tennis shoes. Completing the look was a red scarf around his neck, that was in better condition than Edge's. The last thing of note was that Papyrus didn't appear to have any eye lights.  


“GASP!” Papyrus let out a literal scandalized gasp, as he clapped red gloved hands to his cheekbones. “SANS! I DON’T BELIEVE IT! YOU BONDED WITH A HUMAN! AND EDGE, OF ALL MONSTERS. WITHOUT ANY DATES! THAT IS _NOT_ HOW THE DATING MANUAL SAYS TO GO ABOUT A BONDING!"”   


”NYEHARGH!!” Edge screamed, fury renewed as he lashed out, despite still being held aloft.

By magic, you presume.

San`s hand was still held in Edge`s direction.

You appeared to be in some state of shock as you stood there, absolutely baffled by what you were witnessing. And then, just to make things further confusing, even more skeletons decided to come wandering over.

Just how many of them were there in this city? 

You couldn’t ever recall seeing any of them before when you were out and about.

”SANS? EDGE?” The shorter blue-clad skeleton asked, glancing between Sans and Edge’s glowering visage.

“not a good time, shortstuff.” Red said, not taking his eye lights off Edge and Sans.

You took a closer look at the newcomers.  


The one that looked similar to Papyrus and Edge, standing nearby, appeared relaxed at first glance. But he seemed to be cautious, and kept well back. The skeleton wore an orange hoodie and khaki shorts (or pants-you couldn't tell from here), and orange crocs.

Huh.

The shorter of the newcomers looked like Sans, but was loud and boisterous like Papyrus and Edge. This skeleton was the same height as Sans, perhaps a tad shorter, but looked eerily similar, down the the wide set grin. This skeleton was dressed similarly to Edge, but with a blue bandana around his neck over armor. Blue seemed a fitting name, considering that even his gloves and boots were a shade of blue.

Was Blue a guard too?

”DON’T HURT THE HUMAN, EDGE.” Blue said as he observed the situation. “WE DON’T WANT THE HUMAN AUTHORITIES TO SEE US.”

”nah, let ‘em alone, shortstuff. i wanna see what happens.” Red said, as he glanced over at you. “meybe they’ll pun their way outta this.”

“RED! THIS IS NO TIME FOR JOKES! I'M SERIOUS.” Blue pointed out.

”hi serious, i’m red.” The sharp toothed skeleton snickered.

“YOU HAVE ALREADY USED THAT ONE BEFORE!” Blue shot back, gloved hands thrown up into the air in exasperation. “YOU AND SANS ARE JUST AS BAD AS MY BROTHER.” Blue did not remain on the sidelines, instead stepping forward to assist Sans in restraining Edge, presumably to prevent him from hurting himself or those around him.

You found that you couldn’t help but try to intervene again. Your hand brushed against Blue’s when the two of you reached for Edge, as Sans appeared at your side in an attempt to draw you away. That odd zinging sensation sped through you again, your hand flying away from Blue’s with a gasp as he similarly let out a yelp of surprise.

A loud cuss came out of the unnamed Papyrus lookalike, suddenly just as angry as Edge was.

Edge sputtered in disbelief, still suspended in midair.

Beads of what appeared to be sweat began to appear on Sans` skull.

You watched as the orange hoodie wearing skeleton attempted to drag Blue away from the conflict.

The pair didn't get far.

The shorter of the two let out a hurt sound when the two skeletons were 15 feet away or so, causing Blue to hastily move back within a few feet of you.

At the same time, you felt that same aching pang from earlier, causing you to rub a hand at your chest.

What was going on?

Sans remained where he was, breathing hard now, and that was bizarre to you. He was a skeleton monster. He didn’t have any lungs to breathe with, right?

“welp, that happened.” Sans’ eye sockets seemed to scrunch up as he let out what was probably an unneeded breath. He flicked his eye lights toward the skeleton in the orange hoodie. "it seems your bro just added himself to the bond, stretch. wasn’t closed off yet.”

“OH. OH STARS! I'M SO SORRY!” Blue apologized profusely as he stepped backwards. 

Red, snarling wordlessly, got right up in his face.

You got the feeling, from Red’s earlier words, that he was more jealous than anything about whatever just occurred. 

“I DIDN’T MEAN FOR THAT TO HAPPEN!” Blue looked highly embarrassed at whatever the implications of that sensation had been. “I, THE MAGNIFICENT S-AH, BLUE, WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION. I SHOULD HAVE NOTICED THE MAGIC THAT HAD BEEN ACTIVE IN THE FORMING OF A BOND.” Blue’s voice dropped to a whisper that could barely be heard.  


You were surprised at the volume change but could have sworn you caught the words ‘Dating Manual’ and ‘Oh Stars' and 'Should Have Gone About It Differently.’

Stretch stalked past you to physically place himself between Red and Blue. Stretch and Red began to silently glower at one another, bristling, until the former made it worse by making his right eye socket glow orange as he summoned up bones.

“It Will Be Safer For You If You Give Them Space, Human.” Blue’s volume was about half of what it was when he had first shown up. Blue gently took your hand and guided you out of range of Red summoning bone attacks of his own.

“git outta the way, lazy ass. I ain’t done with yer bro yet." Red said, the sound of him grinding his fangs together audible.

”mess with him and you’ll be sorry.” Stretch’s glowing eye socket narrowed. “you know how bad a time it is fighting me. like a mirror, isn’t it?’

”i’ll give ya a bad time, asshole!” Red snapped, making as if to attack. He was foiled by Papyrus as the taller skeleton hastily locked his arms around Red, hoisting him up and backward.

"PLEASE DO NOT START A CONFRONTATION IN PUBLIC!" Papyrus tightened his grasp as Red squirmed to get away. "WE NEED TO SET A GOOD EXAMMPLE FOR OTHER MONSTERS!"

Blue, once he had decided that you were a safe distance away, stepped forward to try to calm his own bristling brother down. The orange magic flowed steadily for a time before Stretch`s shoulders dropped, a weary expression fixing itself on his face as the glow vanished.

Red showed no signs of calming down as he busily cussed up a storm, Papyrus hard-pressed to diffuse the situation.

"RED! WE'VE ALREADY HAD THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR SWEARING TENDENCIES AND-"

"fuck off, ya-"

“What the hell is going on?” You finally demanded, tone raised enough to speak over all the other voices arguing with one another.   


The six skeleton monsters all stopped what they were doing as they lapsed into silence, before looking at one another.

The rather awkward quiet that continued on was not the response you had hoped for in that moment.

Then Sans, looking very much like he did not want to have this conversation _and_ continue to hold Edge captive in the air, spoke.

"so, kid, um...how much do you know about monsters and how they form relationships?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added ‘panic attacks’ to the tags. It’s only a few lines of short paragraphs at the end of this chapter, but there’s likely to be more of it later on in the story (with other characters).

How much did _you_ know about how monsters formed relationships?

That seemed like a very broad question, since you presumed Sans meant relationships in general compared to humans. You honestly didn’t know how to answer Sans‘ question, but gave it some thought. What _did_ you know about monsters and their relationships that wasn’t internet speculation? Because some of the stuff you saw online could not be true in the least bit.

“Well, do you mean relationships between friends and families, or do you mean relationships as in romantic ones?” You asked after a moment of thought.

Your words were greeted with profound, almost uncomfortable silence.

“let`s go with what you know." Sans said, his grin fixed even more than before as his eye sockets scrunched up.

“Personally? I don’t know all that much about any kind of monster relationship. There isn’t much information out there.” Might as well go for honestly, even though it made Sans, and in turn Blue and Edge, look varying levels of appalled and surprised. In fact...you toon a quick look, and found the other skeleton monsters staring at you. “I don’t particularly take internet rumor seriously, but I do agree that humans still don’t know all that much about monsters, despite you guys being on the surface for the past few years. Monsters still seem pretty secretive about themselves...”

”AS THEY SHOULD BE.” Edge interjected with a scowl. “BETTER TO KEEP HUMANS IGNORANT OF SOMETHING THAT COULD CAUSE A LOT OF PAIN TO MONSTERS IF TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF.”

”you think a human being ignorant around a monster they might have an interest in’s a good idea?” Sans asked.

”IF A HUMAN AND MONSTER DECIDE THEY WANT TO CANOODLE, THEN THE MONSTER CAN LET THEM KNOW PERTINENT INFORMATION THEN.” Edge said archly.

”Do you mean as a friendship or as a romantic relationship?” You wondered.

Edge looked away from you. 

“IT SOUNDS TO ME THAT WE ALL NEED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND CALM DOWN.” Papyrus interjected by clearing his throat.  


How he did that, you were uncertain.  


“THE HUMAN IS CLEARLY CONFUSED WITH YOUR VERY OPEN-ENDED QUESTION, BROTHER.” Papyrus continued on. “I BELIEVE WE NEED TO HAVE A RATIONAL DISCUSSION IF YOU ARE TO MAKE CLEAR WHAT HAS JUST TRANSPIRED BETWEEN YOU ALL.”

“sounds good to me, bro.” Sans said, eye lights shifting to Edge.

“THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR A DISCUSSION!” Edge spat out, the threat in his voice diminished due to his still floating in midair. “I REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED. IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE...A BOND SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE TO INITIATE WITH A HUMAN OF ALL THINGS.”

”I DON’T THINK WE HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER AT THIS POINT. THE BOND HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE.” Blue told the taller, upset skeleton monster.  


You were having trouble focusing on the discussion with all the very loud voices. Blue apparently noticed your faint discomfort, because when he continued to speak, it was at a lower volume.

“This Bond Will Only Be A Bad Thing If You Refuse To Give It A Chance.” Blue crossed his arms. “I Will Not Let A Surprise Bond Get Me Down. It Is Not Fair To My New Bond Mates If I Were To Pitch A Fit Over This Happening.”

Edge let out a soundless snarl as he flung several jagged red bones at Blue.

The shorter monster easily dodged the attacks, as if he had been expecting them.

“THERE HAD BETTER DAMN WELL BE A CHOICE.” Edge growled, reluctantly dropping his hand as his sharp teeth set.

You followed Edge’s gaze, and saw that Sans’ eye socket was glowing cyan again, the other socket completely empty.  


Had Sans done something?

“you know there isn’t a choice in the matter.” Sans sounded rather resigned. “all we can do is work with what’s happened and go from there.”

”I REFUSE.”   


”boss, ya know ya can’t ignore a bond. ya don’t wanna be upset the rest of yer life. sounds _eggs_ -hausting to me.”  Red had briefly stopped cussing Papyrus out to speak to Edge.  


You let slip a laugh when you realized Red had made a pun.

Edge groaned as if in pain, Papyrus and Blue grimacing as well.

Red grinned.

”DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE.” Edge hissed dangerously.

”ah, c’mon boss, i know you _krill_ for a good pun. there’s no use _lion_ to yerself ‘bout havin’ a choice fer bond mates.” Red seemed to grin a little wider.

“THOSE PUNS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SITUATION.” Edge flipped himself over in midair to hang with his back to the air to properly glare at Red. “YOU ARE  LOSING YOUR TOUCH.”

” _touché_ , boss.” Red spread his bony hands. “guess it’s _pasta_ time fer me ta take a nap.”  


“YOU ARE _NOT_ MAKING THIS SITUATION BETTER." Edge narrowed his eye sockets. "DESIST AT ONCE.”

”gotta make the best of the situation, if ya know what’s best fer ya.” Red tossed out, shrugging as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "though it ain't any skin off my nose if ya don't."

"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SKIN!"

You were really laughing now. 

Oh, what in the world had you gotten yourself into?

"ONE MORE WORD..." Edge’s red eye lights were bright. "A SINGLE ONE, AND I'LL-"

"you`ll what, boss? twirl about in the air like yer one of them ballerinas we saw late that one night on tv?" 

Many red bone attacks manifested as Edge began to fling them at Red.

You were glad you were far enough out of range that you didn't have to worry about being hit by one of those sharp bones.

”no need fer ya to get so worked up, boss.” Red said conversationally, dodging a few bones while wearing a great big sharp grin. “you’ve already done a skele- _ton_ of work today. meybe ya should sleep yer anger off before ya work yourself down to the bone?”

“hey, that’s a good idea.”  


You turned to Sans in time to se e his grin hitch up to match Red’s. How did Sans think someone as awake and pissed off as Edge was could possibly be convinced to sleep at a time like this?

Sans flexed his left hand as if flicking something off of it.

Edge let out an undignified squawk as he was dropped from floating in midair. 

You winced in sympathy at the way the  scarred skeleton’s skull cracked against the sidewalk. At the same time, you  saw Edge's eye lights go out, and wondered if this meant that Edge had been knocked out. There was a vague pinch of unease in you, and you had no idea where it came from. All you knew was that the feeling had happened around the same time as Edge hitting his skull. A thin sound like a wounded animal issued out, and you were surprised to find that it came from Red and Papyrus' direction

Red had gone completely still in the taller skeleton's arms, eye lights fixed on Edge's crumpled form, before Red began to shake.

“SANS!” Blue scolded, back to his earlier volume. “YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WITH A BOND WHEN SOMEONE GETS HURT AND ONE HASN’T LEARNED TO SHIELD THE BRUNT OF IT! WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THE CHANCE TO REALLY GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER AND YOU ARE ALREADY MAKING A BAD IMPRESSION OF WHAT A BOND ENTAILS!” 

“Ya sonuva bitch.” Red suddenly hissed.

You watched as Red managed to free himself fom Papyrus’ grasp.  


“don’t give me that fuckin’ blank look.” Red snapped irritably as he got up in  Sans’ face. “The fuck did ya do that to paps for?“

“do you think your bro would willingly sit down right now and have a nonviolent discussion with us?” Sans asked calmly. “a discussion involving a bond with two other monsters  _and_ a human?” 

You watched as Red narrowed his eye sockets, and saw for a brief moment the red eye light’s glow strengthening.  


An uneasy mood hung in the air, before Red snorted through his nasal cavity and stepped back.

“nah, guess not. worked himself up too much. otherwise he wouldna said shit like that.” Red glanced down at his unconscious brother. “doubt ya wanna talk here, so we’re gonna need ta shortcut relatively close in proximity. ya don`t want the link between ya gettin` stretched too thin.”

“THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA. WE REALLY SHOULD TAKE THIS SOMEWHERE ELSE, BEFORE WE DRAW A CROWD.” Blue agreed, before turning to his brother. “ARE YOU UP TO TAKING TWO WITH YOU AT ONCE?”

“don’t see why not.” Stretch slouched over to his brother, hands in his hoodie`s pockets. “haven’t overexerted myself yet today.”

”BECAUSE YOU SLEPT MOST OF THE DAY AWAY!” Blue informed his brother as he led Stretch over to you. 

You could see Stretch’s eye lights lazily flick over you, as if the monster was gauging how you were taking this all.

Honestly?

You were incredibly confused.

“i’ll have to take a nap after this, though.” Stretch muttered before he dropped a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

Blue held out a hand hesitantly toward you.

What the hell.  


You had your cell on you. Might as well roll with whatever was going on. Not like you had anywhere to be, and you really, really needed some answers. Plus, you had this really weird, unexplainable feeling that nothing bad would happen to you in these monsters` company.

“my bro's and my place?” Sans asked.

“sure, yer stuff can be broke by edge.” Red snorted. “less fer for me ta clean up.”

“that won’t be a problem, since that won't be happening.” Sans shook his head, but walked over to you and Blue as he addressed Stretch. “i better take these two myself. you don’t wanna accidentally get in on the bond too, do you? i can sense that it is not completely stable, which means anything could happen until it is.”

You watched Stretch stare at Sans for a moment before the taller skeleton let out a slow sigh and removed his hand from Blue’s shoulder.  


“i suppose it would be awkward to make this particular bond with my own brother.” Stretch walked over to Papyrus and rested a hand on his upper arm instead. 

The two suddenly blinked out of sight right before your eyes.

What?

Red knelt down next to Edge, cautiously reaching out to rest a hand on the taller's upper arm. Then, Red and Edge winked out of sight.

Where...where had they gone?

“you okay with going to my place to talk about what happened?” Sans asked you.

”...yes?” You eventually answered, when you realized that the skeleton monster wanted an actual answer than a nod. "my apartment is small, and it's...well..." You grimaced, "It's humans only on my floor. There were some incidents in the past, apparently, so monsters aren't supposed to be on human floors, and vice versa."

"I THOUGHT THAT WAS AGAINST THE RULES THAT HAD BEEN IMPLEMENTED?" Blue gave Sans a questioning glance. "THAT ANY MONSTER OR HUMAN COULD CHOOSE WHO THEIR NEIGHBORS WERE, TO ENCOURAGE FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN OUR SPECIES?"

"something to look into, i suppose." Sans said. "but i think our situation needs to be explained before we worry about people changing up rules. least they aren't kickin' monsters outta the place."

"does this mean your apartment allows humans and monsters on the same level, or as roommates?" You asked curiously.

"nah, s'one of the few places for monsters that need more time adjusting to the presence of humans. or to being on the surface." Sans said. "There are allowances for that, and only certain buildings so those monsters don't feel pressure. in this area? not supposed to be only for one or the other. my place is closer to mt. ebott." Sans' eye lights searched your face for a moment. "you still okay with goin'? we won't leave my apartment, so it'll just be me and the others you've already sorta met."

"I _would_ like to know what is going on." You told Sans. 

”ok. i need you to close your eyes, then."  Sans said, as one of his hands rested on Blue’s shoulders. "i think one surprise is enough for the day.” 

You moved closer to Blue, subconsciously grasping the scarfed skeleton monster as you closed your eyes. You did not realize just how tightly pressed up against Blue you were because you suddenly experienced a disorienting sensation. It felt as if you had been on a roller coaster that had just begun to drop down from a high height. Despite feeling solid ground beneath you, you kept your eyes squeezed shut. 

What had Sans just _done_?

Said skeleton could be heard laughing softly from nearby. 

“you can open your eyes now.” Sans said. “wasn’t that long of a shortcut.” Sans paused, and you heard the humor intensify. “you can also stop squeezing blue so much. you aren’t gonna fall over or anything.”

Whoops.

You opened your eyes to find that you were, in fact, holding Blue in something of a death grip with your arms around his neck, and your body pressed up against him. Letting go abruptly, you quickly stepped back, offering a quick apology.

”I’m sorry!” 

Blue looked flustered but offered you a brilliant smile, as if to say no harm done. There was light dusting of blue across his cheek bones.

Was Blue...blushing?

How could skeletons blush?

Magic?

Taking mercy on the flushing skeleton monster, you looked away to take in your surroundings.  


You weren’t outside anymore. 

It looked like someone’s apartment. 

Sans’, apparently, as you recalled his earlier words.

How had you gotten here so suddenly? You were pretty damn sure your apartment was a good distance away from Mt. Ebott. M agic would likely be your response, so you kept the thought to ask later. Y ou quickly panned the room to see if the rest of the skeleton monsters were already there.

They were.

Papyrus was pacing back and forth behind a nearby couch, while Stretch and Red sprawled out on it. 

You were not sure what to make of Sans’ producing some rope out of nowhere as he merrily began to bind Edge’s arms behind his back. You cast a quick glance at Red, who shrugged carelesslyin response from where he was slumped.

“it will be safer for ya if my bro can’t act out.” Red said. “it’ll hopefully give him a chance ta calm down. He can be rational when he ain’t angry.”

Blue stared at Sans and Edge for a time before he seemed to recover from you squeezing your arms around his neck. Blue turned to you and offered a gloved hand. 

“IT’LL BE MORE COMFORTABLE FOR YOU IF YOU AREN'T STANDING. IT WILL HELP SETTLE ANY DISORIENTING FEELING LEFT OVER FROM THE SHORTCUT.” Blue said, very politely leading you over to a nearby chair. This short skeleton was very nice, even if you caught Blue looking at you before hastily turning his head away, an even more obvious dusting of blue across his cheek bones.

That was...kind of cute.

As soon as you sat down on the comfy chair, Blue immediately began to pace back and forth.

“so. got some explaining to do about what happened out there.” Sans said without preamble. “the sooner the better, since your soul has become erratic and your heartrate is accelerating.” Sans shifted in place. “maybe it’s best to explain it in pieces, to give you a better idea of the whole picture.”

“So...what  _did_ happen?” You wondered, glancing around the room before settling your gaze back on Sans.

"it's natural for monsters to form a link when they want to form bond with one or more monsters. there's bonds between family that are formed from birth, and then there are bonds between friends, that aren't as intense as familial bonds, or...a life bond."

Wait.

"A life...bond?" You prompted, when Sans trailed off. You shot a side glance at Red, who had let out a quiet snigger, as if enjoying watching Sans attempt to explain things.

"there weren't many life bond mates in the underground that i knew of, apart from dogressa and dogamy. pretty sure alphys and undyne bonded as soon as they were out of the underground and on the surface. choosing to form a bond between monsters is usually something that needs intent from all involved, and once it is made, it's near impossible to break. but when you add humans into the mix, that changes things." Sans sat down on another chair and sunk into the pillows that were there. "since there haven’t been many human and monster relationships out in the open, it is harder to be completely sure about what will happen when entering a life bond. i'd need to ask alphys about some things. gotta make sure nothing bad will happen to any of us in this newly formed bond..."  Sans trailed off, brow bone somehow furrowing as his eye lights dimmed a tad bit.

"what he's tryin' ta say ta ya is that you, short-stuff, my bro and him are all gonna be stuck together for at least a solid month." Red interjected, gleefully continuing the explanation. "meybe even longer, since one of ya is human. Need ta stick close to one another so the links of the bond are solidified." Red stretched out on the couch, jostling Stretch. 

"and that means you won't be able to go about your days normally until the bond is complete." Stretch said, shoving Red's feet away from his lap. "you won't want your days filled with pain if you try to avoid one another. your souls will try to prevent you from getting too far away from each other." Stretch glanced at his brother. "just like when i tried to get blue away from you lot and he couldn't because he had formed a link to the bond as well."

"but just 'cause the bond settles down doesn't mean ya get to completely go on with yer regular lives." The mirth in Red's voice vanished, and you saw a dark look pass across his face. "yer gonna all have ta come into contact regularly with one another. least twice a month, if not more often, so that yer souls don't go outta whack from bein' apart fer too long. this life bond ain't somethin' ta easily forget about an' dismiss. it's also near impossible to remove yerself from the bond without potentially dustin' someone."

"dusting?" you asked curiously. "do you mean that it could potentially kill one of us to try and undo it?"

Red gave a single firm nod.

"I'M SO SORRY." Blue blurted out as he stopped pacing. "I APOLOGIZE FOR MY PART IN ALL THIS. I HAD NOT REALIZED A LIFE BOND WAS UNDERWAY. AS I SAID BEFORE, I HADN'T KNOWN WHAT WAS HAPPENING, NOR THAT THE LINK HADN'T FULLY CLOSED." Blue looked around the room. "I NEVER WOULD HAVE INTENTIONALLY BUTTED IN AND WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECTLY HAPPY TO BACK AWAY, HAD MY INSTINCTUAL RESPONSE TO THE BOND HADN'T BEEN SO STRONG." 

"All right" You cut in. "So if I understand this correctly, I have somehow gotten into this 'life bond' with the three of you, and because of this, we need to spend time together. For at least a month, to let the bond finish linking us together, and we can't stop it, otherwise it could risk killing someone. And after that, we still need to regularly interact with one another."

"that about sums it up." Sans said.

"But what does it _mean_?" You asked. "I don't understand the implications, and since this is from monster culture, I need something to try and compare it to, just so I am not getting the wrong idea."

There was a silent exchanging of eye lights around the room. 

Papyrus began to fidget, and Red smirked from his place on the couch while Stretch frowned at you. Blue looked even more embarrassed than before, if that was possible, and Sans' eye lights vanished entirely from his sockets.  Edge was still unconscious on the floor, but he appeared to be slowly on his way to regaining it from the slight twitching of his limbs.

Red broke the silence with loud laughter.

“I’m gonna give paps _so_ much shit for this.” Red said with a pointy grin. “He always did want a life bond but he wanted ta be romanced first. all that dating shit like holdin' hands and cuddlin'...showin' off how strong he is in a sparrin` match, and meybe some kisses. but bein’ thrown into a life bond without any dates an' not really knowin' his bond mates first? He’s gonna be such a jackass fer-“ Red let out a pained grunt as long bony legs abruptly hooked over him, dragging Red off the couch to pin him roughly against the floor face-first. 

“Quiet, whelp.” Edge hissed, wide awake now and just as pissed off as before, if only a little more subdued.

You figured this was because he couldn’t properly menace anyone while tied up, let alone be able to tower over anyone.  Like this, Edge was a little less intimidating to you.

Then Red's words hit you. 

"Wait, are you saying that we had some kind of monster equivalent of a marriage out there in the park?" You demanded, looking at each of the skeletons in turn, before fixing your gaze on Sans.

"guess that’s the closest approximation to what it is." Sans' eye lights were back, but they weren't as bright as before. "but unlike humans, a life bond means much more to us monsters. you can’t just dissolve a life bond. i guess i have heard of human marriages that end in divorce, but for a life bond, it's not like that. it's kinda..." Sans trailed off.

"it’s known as a life bond because it is _for life_." Stretch said, lying himself out across the couch now that Red was off of it. "monsters tend to be more careful and make certain that they want that unbreakable bond with another monster. they need to know they will always be together, before tying themselves permanently to another's life. Or multiple monsters, if there’s more than one monster in the relationship." Stretch briefly looked at his brother before hisnsockets narrowed in an unfriendly way, eye lights first on Edge and Sans, and then on you. "i don't want my brother's soul broken if one of you tries to dissolve a life bond with him."

You heard the warning in Stretch's voice, but you were more focused on what he had said before.

That a life bond was for _life_.

You hadn’t seen that coming. After all, you'd  never exactly contemplated marriage in any serious capacity, since you never really had much of an interest in dating. Most people tended to want to have sex after barely even getting to know one another. Maybe you just had bad luck, but you didn't want to get physical in a relationship with someone you weren't sure you would be spending the rest of your life with. You could handle kissing and cuddling, but you had little sex drive to speak of, and it tended to turn people off. And it turned you off even more when someone wanted sex but you weren't interested in it in that very moment.

"hey, you uh...you okay there? you got a funny look on yer face. ain't gonna pass out on us now, are you?"

Sans voice barely registered as you continued to reminisce and accidentally fall down a rabbit hole of unpleasant memories. It made you feel uncomfortable and unhappy. Especially because you had just recalled the last time you’d gone to hang out with someone new. It had been fun to meet up and chat at a mall, but where you believed you were just having a good time with someone who could become a friend, they apparently thought the two of you were on a date. Suffice to say, you were not pleased in the least when they tried to kiss you after approximately two hours of wandering around and chatting. 

You took much longer to trust someone than two hours and a casual acquaintance,  given that you had some shit happen on and off throughout your life that made it difficult for you to give your trust to others. That you had to really get to know someone before you really let them in, because you couldn't always tell what someone’s intentions were toward you. Not everyone was patient enough to wait for you to offer that trust, and those people would tend to get fed up and leave.

"THEIR SOUL PULSE IS OUT OF CONTROL. AND THEIR HEART RATE SEEMS TO BE HIGHER THAN IS HEALTHY FOR A HUMAN."

Blue's voice seemed to be coming from far away.

Suddenly, you realized that you had skipped past getting to know and trust someone, to suddenly having three monster partners.

It was shocking, to say the least.

Not to mention, you only had very basic knowledge about monsters. You knew that they had been trapped underground, and had recently been freed a few years back, and eventually allowed to integrate into society. You had seen what appeared to be parents with children now and again, since you had learned from a past co-worker about monster children wearing striped clothes. To have a relationship thrust on you with three monsters seemed very sudden, and you had mixed feelings about it, mainly because you didn't want to offend anyone. You didn't even really have a good handle on relationships with other humans. At this point, you didn’t even know what you wanted in a supposed relationship, let alone what three monsters wanted or didn’t want from you.

Thoughts were beginning to spiral into thinking about the worst possible outcomes of this situation you found yourself in.

You were definitely out of your depth here.

"I TOLD YOU HUMANS WERE WEAK!"

"THEY'VE JUST HAD A LOT OF INFORMATION THROWN AT THEM, EDGE!"

"DID I ASK FOR YOUR OPINION, PIPSQUEAK?"

"I AM NOT SMALL! YOU, MY BROTHER AND PAPYRUS ARE ALL GIANTS!"

This was a problem.  Despite all the loud voices, you were having trouble making out individual words.  You felt a bit faint, drawing forth alert looks from many of the skeletons, but especially the ones that were bonded to you.  Sans voice was suddenly right next to you. 

"i know this is a lot to take in. if a distraction would be helpful, we can talk about something else. you don't look so good right now"

You let out a faint sound in return, noticing that your heart was thumping wildly in your chest while your breathing had become erratic. You began to shake, breath coming out in short, rapid puffs.

Oh wow.

Okay. 

It had been some time since you last had a panic attack but really, how were you supposed to be able to process this situation like a rational person?

Aaaand you were now on the floor.  


Somehow.

That was...probably for the best, since you were slightly uncoordinated right now. Oddly, though, you could somehow sense the alarm coming from the monsters, but especially from Sans and Blue. Maybe you should have wondered about that but instead, you had the idea to tell them what was going on.  You weren’t sure if they knew what was happening to you. But your body decided to make you worry over every little thing happening to it.  


Nope.

An explanation would just have to wait, as you closed your eyes and focused on your breathing while you attempted to calm yourself down. What a great impression _this_ must have been on the skeleton monsters around you, until you heard Red`s angry words in a moment of clarity over the other voices.

"which one of ya fuckers did this ta the human? ya dumbasses are supposed ta calm yer bond mate down, not make 'em panic."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some skeleton monsters are concern. Don’t worry, Blue is on the case to help. Maybe they'll all remember to ask for your name soon.
> 
> Note about updates: My hope is to get one or two more chapters posted this month. Come August, my guess is that this fic will become a twice a month update. If I happen to update more than that, great, but with life being so hectic, I can’t really settle on or promise that that will be my regular update schedule (it may very well become a ‘post updates when I am able to’ schedule). Chapter length will vary.
> 
> (Original 1st chapter end note):  
> I have more of an emotion-driven romance planned for this fic than an actual physical one. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be any heavy petting or kisses later. 
> 
> Currently undecided if any other au skeletons are entering the fray or not, but I’d say the likelihood is high (aka I could be convinced to add more).
> 
> Also: If, for whatever reason, this fic is like another fic I have not come across, I could always put an inspired section in if need be. I mainly just wanted to write something silly and have the reader fumbling with what to do about suddenly having three skeleton partners (maybe more? Again, undecided. The outline I have has room for adjustments and additions).


	3. Chapter 3

A soothing, otherworldly feeling flowed over you in the midst of your panic. Confusion began to settle in place of the fear as your body started to relax. There was still some panic that held you in its sway, but whatever sensation was washing over you, it assisted in helping calm your quick breaths.

Was this magic?

If it was, you wondered if it would manage to put you to sleep, since it felt so relaxing.

“i think that’s working. keep it up, blue.”

”I WILL. THE HUMAN IS RESPONDING VERY WELL TO MY MAGIC.”

“THIS IS SUCH A FARCE. I TOLD YOU THAT HUMANS WERE WEAK. IT’S A WONDER THAT YOUR MAGIC CAN DO ANYTHING FOR ONE. THEY CAN’T EVEN USE MAGIC! USELESS.” Edge remarked snidely from nearby. “THIS PARTICULAR HUMAN CAN’T EVEN HANDLE SPEAKING ON THE TOPIC OF BONDS. ALL HUMANS ARE SELFISH AND-“

“shut yer damn mouth, boss. s’not helpin.” Red cut in.  


“WHAT WAS THAT?” Edge ground out.

”i said, shut yer fuckin’ trap. ya can be pissed all ya want, but don’t take it out on yer bond mate.” Red snapped back. “ain’t gonna do anythin’ in the end but hurt ya.”

You got the weird feeling that Edge was not used to being ordered around or scolded by Red. But that was all it was. A feeling, as you continued to lie there and enjoy that soothing magic flow over you.

”WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”  Edge let out a sudden snarl. “DON’T YOU DARE, WHELP. I WILL MAKE YOUR REGRET TRYING TO-“ A brief tussle of bones could be heard. “DAMMIT, STOP AT ONCE! I-NYEH!”  


A blissfully silent room where you could only hear your own breathing was the result of whatever Red had done to Edge.   


Between the sudden quiet and that pulse of magic flowing over you, your breathing finally began to even out, before you went slack on the floor with a relieved sigh.

Wait.

Why was the floor moving?

You realized that only half of you was on the floor. Your head appeared to be resting on someone’s lap, a gloved hand hesitantly resting on your shoulder, where the warm, relaxing feeling came from. You made a mental note to ask if what you were experiencing was indeed magic. But you had your eyes closed right now, so you supposed it could wait.

The whole room remained silent, apart from the occasional muffled sounds, which you presumed were coming from Edge, and a brief scuffle with Red cursing before there were extra footsteps and his swearing was suddenly gone.

When you finally felt well enough to open your eyes, you did so, only to tense up at the sight of two pairs of eye lights focused on you.  You didn’t really know what to say, so you said things that came to mind in a stream of babbles.

”I didn’t mean to... It’s just...everything is going so quickly, I feel...like I don’t know how to process this all in addition to everything else...I kind of, shut down?”

“s’fine.” Sans told you. He was standing alongside where you and Blue were on the floor. “told you before it was a lot to take in, and considering you’re a human, it probably does seem very sudden.” Sans’ hands were stuffed in his jacket’s pockets. “and if you got something else on your mind, adding in a monster bond isn’t likely to do you any favors.”  


Sans seems to hesitate, and you stared at him curiously. Sans lowered his voice to a bare whisper, as if not sure he wanted to share but was going to anyway.

“i recognize a panic attack. some of us monsters have them too. coming up to the surface helped make our lives better but those of us who experience them sometimes have very bad days.” Sans’ grin hitched back up, as he stepped away and walked over to Edge. “now, what’re we gonna do with you, huh, pal?” Sans asked as he carefully prodded the taller skeleton monster in the spine with a slippered foot.

”Are You Feeling Better Now?” Blue asked from overhead, staring down at you with a worried crinkle of his eye sockets.

“I think so?” You said automatically, staring up at those bright eye lights before it sunk in that it was Blue’s lap your head was resting on. You slowly sat up and turned to face him. “ Thank you, for...whatever it was you did.” You remembered what you wanted to ask and added. “Was that magic I felt?”

”It Was.” Blue’s cheek bones were dusted with blue again. “It Is A Bit Difficult To Explain What Kind Of Magic, However. Healing Magic Would Be The Closest Comparision, But It Only Works On Bond Mates.” Blue ducked his head, apparently rather shy about the whole thing.

You could see his smile, however, which made you think that while he was shy, he was happy. Maybe you should ask why you were thinking about things like that. It wasn’t like you could actually read someone else’s mood very well, let alone a skeleton monster when you hardly knew anything about monsters. You looked around the room again, and saw that Papyrus, Stretch and Red were missing.

“Where did the others go?” You asked. Red had sounded upset before, so you were a little surprised that he wasn’t still around.

“our brothers are trying to give us space to explain things further to you.” Sans sighed. “they also feel a little uncomfortable to be around a bond link that isn’t completely closed. it almost is, but better safe than sorry.”

”Red seemed like he might have tried to stick around.” You told Sans, who grinned in return. “I get the feeling he doesn’t mind that the link isn’t closed yet.”

”yeah, he’s a little down about not bein’ in a life bond with someone. but he also knows not to intrude since he knows what is happening, unlike Blue who found out too late. my bro still had to physically carry red out of the room.” Sans glanced down at Edge. “think red mighta wanted to stick around mainly to make sure _his_ little brother behaved around his bond mates.”

You jumped a little at the way Edge kicked out at the couch, and turned your head to see Edge’s eye lights pinpricks in his sockets as he glared at Sans. The scarred skeleton worked his jaw as though trying to bite through his own scarf that had been used to wrap around his sharp teeth and jaw.

“so, how are you feeling now?” Sans prompted, drawing your attention back to him. 

“Better? I’m still not so sure how I feel about this all. The whole life bond. It’s honestly going a bit fast for me.” You told Sans.

”how ‘bout you, blue?” 

”I Am Feeling Content With What Has Happened. I Will Face Any Surprises Head On, And Will Not Let The Unexpected Get Me Down.” Blue said, as he stood up and stretched. “I Am Also Fine With Going At Whatever Pace Everyone is Comfortable With For This Bond.” Blue crossed his arms and studied Sans. “And You? If You Are Anything Like My Brother, I Feel Confident In Assuming That You Never Expected To Be In A Life Bond With Anyone.”

”dunno how comfortable i am with you making assumptions based off your own brother but...” sans offered a careless shrug. “you’re close enough. i’m still taking everything in too, but i wouldnt say i’m unhappy. quite the opposite, in fact.” Sans somehow winked an eye socket at you. “after all, i feel the human here knows how to kick back and relax with such comfortable looking clothes.”

“They Are Our Bond Mate Now, So It Is Rude To Continue To Refer To Them As ‘Human.’” Blue uncrossed his arms and awkwardly ran a gloved hand over his skull. “I Apologize On Behalf Of Myself And The Others For So Rudely Not Asking For Your Name.” Blue smiled brightly at you. “I’m Blue!”

”sans.” The other short skeleton said with an easy grin as he took a hand out of his pocket and hooked a bony thumb over his shoulder. “and that is edge.”

”I’m Y/N.” You provided, offering an uncertain smile. This really was such an unexpected situation but it didn’t seem all that bad?

Blue beamed at you while Sans offered a lazy wave.

”nice to meet you, y/n, despite the circumstances.”

You turned to face Edge when you heard the scarred and bound skeleton begin to snarl. It was rather eerie that his eye lights were completely gone, and his eye sockets fully black. You found it rather hard to believe Red and his claim that Edge wanted a life bond, when Edge acted like he was offended by your very existence and had to be restrained.

”looks like not much has changed.”   


You heard Stretch before you saw him enter the living room. Behind him, Red followed along behind him with a scowl on his face. Papyrus had come back as well, but lingered behind the couch again.

”you weren’t gone for that long.” Sans pointed out. “and y/n just came back to us.”

”y/n, huh?” Stretch glanced your way before sighing. “i knew there was something we forgot about.”

”’cause yer lazy ass was more worried about yer brother.” Red said snidely, before his grin flashed wide at you. “nice ta meetcha, y/n. hopefully my boneheaded bro ain’t gonna give ya too hard a time.”

”i still don’t approve of what happened.” Stretch said as he slumped onto the couch again, resting his feet on Edge, who let out a muffled growl. “but so long as no harm comes to my bro, something has to be done about the open link of your bond. papyrus won’t be able to live without worry in his own apartment if the link doesn’t fully close.”

“why don’t ya go git a hotel suite at a monster resort?”  Red suggested. “got plenty of space, and if ya git a whole floor to yerself, ya won’t run into any other monsters.”

You honestly feel like you are in a dream, but after giving yourself a quick pinch, you know it isn’t.

A monster resort?

A _hotel suite_?

What even was your life right now?

“Wouldn’t One Of Our Apartments Do?” Blue asked. “Getting A Room At A Resort Would Be Tricky, Given We Have Not Been Seen Or Our Appearance In This Universe Explained.” Blue turned to you. “What About Your Home?”

”It’s a studio apartment, so there’s even less room than here.” You respond automatically, still processing the idea of a resort. “Plus, no monsters are supposed to be on the human floors.”   


“Oh, That’s Right.” Blue lapsed into silence, presumably giving thought to any other possible places to stay.

“I didn’t mention this yet, but I’m between jobs right now, so I don’t really have any obligations.” This was such a weird and unexpected situation you found yourself in. “It would actually be kind of nice to take something of a vacation and get out of the city. Maybe to another city, or somewhere quieter. I haven’t been on a real vacation since I was a teenager.”

All of the skeleton monsters in the room gave you funny looks, Edge included.

“Um....after high school, college took up most of my time, so I only had days off during school breaks. After I graduated, I had college loans looming over my head, so I got a job and an apartment with a roommate. That living arrangement didn’t work out for long, so I moved out and got the studio apartment.” Why were the monsters all staring at you like that? Did it have to do with what you were telling them? Obviously it did, but why was it making them look so...incredulous? “The jobs that I’ve had over the years didn’t always allow me to rack up vacation time. And sometimes not until after I had already left the job, so I only got unpaid time off here and there.” You shrugged. “And right now, I’ve been out of a job for nearly a year. But it’s the longest vacation I’ve had since I graduated college years ago.“

It was interesting to see the skeleton monsters around wearing expressions that were a mix of appalled and indignant.

”I Think A Hotel Suite Sounds Like It Would Be A Wonderful Idea.” Blue told Sans firmly.

You managed to catch Edge’s narrowed eye sockets and gleaming red eye lights. It appeared like he was still absolutely against going anywhere with any of you, even though he couldn’t speak and voice that opinion. The scarred skeleton’s hostility radiated off of him in waves and sparks of red magic could be seen.

“i know a guy who could get us a whole top floor to ourselves at one of the resorts.”  Sans said cryptically, before he stepped into another room. You could hear his voice speaking quietly, so he must have a phone in that room.

You had a bit of a problem with heights but at the same time, the idea of accidentally drawing more monsters into this life bond did seem like something to avoid. Especially since you wanted more information about how it worked. You also felt kind of bad for Edge, who obviously had his mind set on how he had wanted to go about bonding with someone.You sat in silence as activity continued to go on around you, focusing on different ideas that could possibly get Edge to be more comfortable with what had happened.

“got a place lined up.” Sans announced, as he reentered the living room. “and not only do we get a suite, we’ll have the whole resort to ourselves.”  


“Which Resort?” Blue perked up.

”it’s a surprise.” Sans said as his grin stretched a little wider. He turned to face you. “you’ll probably want  to bring some stuff with you from your home. but right now, it would be easier if red or stretch could pack for you. otherwise, you’d be taking three of us into your apartment and risk attracting unwanted attention. and i don’t think having three monsters on a human-only floor is a good idea.”

“...on one condition.” You said, as you took the paper and pen that Blue offered.  


You couldn’t believe that you were doing this.

You were really doing this crazy ‘go on a vacation’ with your new bond mates you didn’t know you were going to have.  Good thing your mind could list essentials and clothing on a piece of paper while also freaking out over how insane your life had suddenly gotten.  


”and what’s the condition?” Sans prompted when you didn’t speak right away.

”That Stretch be the one that goes to my place.“ You answered, lips twitching in amusement when you saw Red bristle. The gathered monsters had lapsed into silence until you finished the list. You passed it and your key over to Stretch.

”be back soon.” Stretch said, his own lazy grin tugging in amusement before he winked out of existence.

“i’m hurt, darlin’.” Red said in mock offense, bringing a hand to his chest. A mischievous grin hitched up immediately. “but it’s probably for the best. i mighta snooped around ta find some good blackmail material.”

“I don’t have any deep dark secrets.” You informed him with a laugh.

“sure ya don’t.” Red agreed easily enough.

Funny, it sounded to you that Red wasn’t convinced. 

“NO PRANKING YOUR BOND MATES, SANS.” Papyrus told his brother sternly. “THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE FOR JAPES.”

“sure thing. i’ll just _relish_ mytime with them instead.” Sans said with a crinkle of his eye sockets.

“I KNOW YOU MADE A PUN THERE.” Papyrus let out a groan.

“Are You All Right? I Know This Is Happening Very Quickly.” Blue asked, coming to stand next to you. “But I Don’t Want You To Feel Pressured By What Is Going On. I’m Sure This Is Very Odd And Confusing For A Human.”

“I...” You trailed off, giving everything that had happened thus far some quick yet serious thought.

Okay...

So were you really doing this?

Going to a hotel suite to spend time with three monsters you had just met and knew little to nothing about? To spend time with monsters who were still literal strangers just because you’d magically ended up in a bond with them? To go to a place that might feel like it was for a human honeymoon? Though...with how rapidly things had escalated, this felt a lot more like the people who got drunk and eloped, only to wake up married to someone they only vaguely remembered.

You...

What the hell were you _thinking_? 

This...this couldn’t be happening. 

While you liked the idea of going on an adventure and experiencing something new in your life, this definitely seemed to be a bit much for a first step.   


“I Am Sorry That This Is So Conflicting For You. We Will Have To Do A Better Job Explaining Bonds.” Blue slowly reached out to pat your arm reassuringly. “It Is Difficult For Us As Well. Most Monsters Navigate Bonds Instinctually, So We Will Have To Try To Be More Forthcoming And Be Ready To Answer Any Questions You Might Have.”

It helped a little bit that Blue was attempting to make you feel better. But at the same time, something felt...wrong? When you looked at your two other bond mates, they seemed...distracted.

Sans appeared to be trying to give you space, despite his brother‘s repeated  attempts to shove him in your direction. Blue seemed to be more interested in putting you at ease than reassuring Sans or...

You glanced at Edge.

Apparently, the scarred skeleton could sense your gaze, since he lifted his head to glare at you. There was brief eye contact that was made before Edge looked away with a muffled huff.

This was what was causing the wrong feeling.

Before you decided on whether or not to go along to a monster resort, you needed to do something about the fact that Edge was still tied up. The sight didn’t sit right with you.

”Sans, Blue?” You saw the two skeleton’s eye lights focus on you, and seeing they were paying attention, you waved a hand in Edge’s direction. “I want to have a chance to speak with him alone.”  


It was kind of off-putting for everyone else to look wary of the idea. You let out a slow sigh. 

“I need to do this before agreeing to go anywhere with anyone. The two of you seem all right with this whole life bond thing. I want to talk about it with Edge without the rest of you hassling him.” You gave Red narrowed eyes with your last words.

“nah, i ain’t hasslin’ him.” Red said with an easy grin. “i’m just messin’ with my lil bro. got a stick up his non-existent arse that makes his spine ramrod straight.” 

“talking to him seems like it could be a good idea.” Sans said in a low voice. His eye lights flicked in Edge’s direction. “so long as the rest of us are close enough, just in case there happens to be a problem.”

“AH, YOU ARE FINALLY GOING TO TALK SOME SENSE INTO EDGE? THEN LET THE REST OF US GIVE YOU SOME PRIVACY.” Papyrus promptly wrangled Red and walked off into a bedroom, the shorter skeleton cursing. Sans went into another room with a wave. Stretch had yet to return, which left you and Blue in the living room with Edge.

”Y/N.” Blue led you a short distance away, and lowered his voice. “If Edge Tries Anything, You Need To Call Him Out On His Bluff. Unlike The Others, I Do Not Believe That He Is Capable of Causing Harm To A Bond Mate.” Blue offered a wry grin, his usual bright smile a little smaller. “But It Is Entirely Possible That He Will Attempt To Intimidate You.” Blue met your eyes and his voice went even quieter than before. “Sans and I will come out of the room if we sense that you are in actual danger. So, if Edge attempts to do something and we don’t come out, that is because there is no intention to harm in Edge’s actions. He and his brother came from a place this was not so easy to give out one’s trust...but that’s something for the two of you to talk about.” Blue gave you a reassuring clasp of a hand on your shoulder, before he disappeared into the room Sans had gone in to. 

Right then.

You were now all alone in the living room an unhappy skeleton monster. Who happened to still have his arms tied and his jaw held shut by his own red scarf, which made his suspicious look unsurprising. You did your best to approach Edge in as non-threatening a way as possible, but that didn’t seem to help, because those red eye lights shrunk at your approach.

Edge’s chest heaved a few times before he struggled into an upright position so that his back was to the couch. Edge tucked his long legs beneath him, as if preparing to throw himself.

Wait.

Oh, shi-

Your breath was driven from you as Edge tackled you to the floor. Letting out a whoosh of air followed by a discomforted grunt, you found yourself on your back.

Edge let out another muffled sound as he overbalanced and landed on top of you.

There was a brief expectation to feel crushed but instead, you found the weight of the monster to not be as bad as you anticipated it might be. His armor, however, was a bit uncomfortable to be pressed down against you.  


Edge crossly mumbled into his own scarf as he awkwardly lifted his head and part of his upper body off of you. His eye lights managed to get even tinier than they were before as Edge did a swift once over of where he was resting on top of your body.

Wow.

You did _not_ expect to see a dusting of red across those sharp cheek bones peeking up over the wrapped scarf. The color was even darker than Blue’s.

Since no one had come to your rescue, Edge must not be planning to cause you any harm. He seemed more lost as to what to do, if anything. Seeing as your arms weren’t pinned down in any way, you reached up toward the scarf that was around the monster’s jaw.

Edge immediately jerked his head back as if he believed he were about to be attacked.

”Do you want to stay gagged and have a one-sided conversation with me?” You asked. “Or do you want me to take the scarf off for you?”  
  
Edge’s eye sockets narrowed at you before he reluctantly leaned his head back over.

”That’s what I thought.” You carefully undid the knot, and unwound the scarf, gasping a little when you revealed his sharp teeth. This close up, you could better appreciate them. You were a bit of a sucker for sharp-toothed characters in movies and books. Before Edge could do anything, you acted on impulse and ran your fingertips along those cheekbones as you stared at those fangs. “Your teeth are so cool! They’re slightly different than your brother’s...and look at how they slot together without any gaps between them.” Since Edge wasn’t protesting, you gently coaxed his skull closer so that you could better see the teeth. They had even parted the slightest bit, which gave you an even better look.

Edge somehow got even more red all over his skull as you traced the sharp edges of his teeth curiously, feeling the way his jaw bone flexed when your fingertips reached it.  


“Damn. So cool.” You muttered to to yourself, staring the fangs. The fangs were neatly attached to the jaw, nearly seamlessly, which gave the impression that Edge’s teeth were larger at a distance. You suddenly remembered just whose skull it was you were looking at so closely and hastily let go. “Um...s-sorry. Humans don’t have sharp teeth like that. Hope that it isn’t offensive to look at them so closely?”  


Edge stared down at you.

Maybe.

His eye lights were completely gone again and his brow bone had started to flush with red color as well.   


“Would you like for me to undo the rope around your arms too?”  Edge’s skull turned away, no longer staring at you head on. But he didn’t move, which you presumed meant that he was agreeable to the idea. It would have been easier if he got off of you, but Edge didn’t seem to be planning to move any time soon.  


Guess you had to do it the hard way. 

You  reached your arms around Edge’s back and started to pluck at the rope around his wrists. “You know, this would be a lot easier if you would get off of me first.”

Naturally, there was no response.

Not until you freed the scarred skeleton’s wrists and arms.

With a snarl, Edge planted a hand on your left shoulder as he slammed a sharp jagged red bone directly next to your head with his other hand.

Holy _shit_.

You were not at all embarrassed at the scream that came out of you because damn, that attack was much too close to your head. But so were those fangs that Edge parted to snarl at you. Too late you forgot Blue’s words regarding the other skeleton and the possibility of intimidation. You expected derisive words from the scarred skeleton but instead, Edge’s body went completely rigid over you. This made you shoot a quick glance past Edge’s shoulder.

Sans and interestingly enough, Red, were standing on either side of Edge. The two held their own sharp bone attacks in hand, with Sans pressing his against the base of Edge’s skull, while Red had slipped his bone down beneath armor and scarf around to where Edge’s sternum would be.

You felt someone urgently tug you backward, and since Edge had let go of your shoulder, you scooted backward until you were practically back in Blue’s lap. You sunk gratefully against him as he ran a hand soothingly over your back and shoulders.

Edge’s attack dissipated at once over a single tap that Red made against the side of his skull.

You watched as Edge reluctantly made eye contact with his brother before looking away. When Red let his own attack vanish, Edge proceeded to sink to the floor into a silent heap as he buried his skull into his tattered red scarf.

”yer a dumbass.” Red muttered, roughly stuffing his hand back into his pocket.

Edge said something into his scarf but otherwise didn’t move.

“this place ain’t like back home.” Red added, shifting from foot to foot absently. “ya don’t always have ta defend yerself like usual, even if everythin’ ain’t perfect here.”

Edge remained silent.

“Blue?” Something occurred to you while watching Edge. You felt Blue’s hand give your own a reassuring squeeze. When you turned your head, you saw his eye lights were fixed on you in obvious concern. “Was it a bluff?” You whispered. 

“Yes, It Was.” Blue’s smile hitched back into place as he confirmed your words. “We Only Interfered Because Of Your Scream.”

”Then if I...” Your words trailed off as you gave Blue’s hand a squeeze in return before letting go and standing up. You walked over to Edge and Red, where you put your hands on your hips and stared down at the former.

”meybe ya should-“ Red started to say, only to frown in confusion as you flashed a small grin at him and dropped to your knees. “what’re ya-“

“Hey.” You reached out and dragged Edge up by his shoulders before you brought his head against your chest. You cupped the back of the his skull, holding it there firmly while the fingers of your other hand traced the back of a few pointy vertebrae. “If you wanted a hug, you could have just asked.” You held his skull a little closer, hearing Edge let out a sputtering sound. “But you’re going to have to try a bit harder if you really want to scare me off.” You whispered your last thought against the top of his skull. “If that attack hadn’t been right next to my head, I would have been distracted by how close your teeth were.” 

Edge’s hands came up immediately to free himself from your hold before he abruptly pulled away from you. His entire skull was dusted a dark red as he let out an incensed growl. Edge got to his feet and stomped across the floor into the nearest bedroom before he slammed the door shut. Furniture was upended and moved around before it became quiet.

Everyone present heard the soft, yet forceful ‘nyeh’ that emitted from behind the closed door.

“shit!” Red broke the stunned silence with a short bark of laughter. “that was fuckin’ perfect. ya got him good. that’ll teach him ta try and intimidate a bond mate.”

Blue crossed his arms to stare at the closed door while Sans sidled up next to you to give you a friendly nudge with an elbow.

”i’d say that went well. edge won’t be able to say that you have no _spine_.” 

You were very pleased with yourself for calling Edge out on his bluff, even if you were slightly embarrassed to again let him know that his fangs were distracting. You also hoped that hugging Edge’s skull to you hadn’t been too much for him. After all, Edge didn’t seem to have liked your touch out in the park.

”he liked that.” Red seemed to pick up on your train of thought. When Red saw you look from the closed door to him with a skeptical look, the sharp grin widened. “he did, really. but boss ain’t gonna admit it. though, come ta think of it, he ain’t gonna be able ta look ya in the eye for awhile without flushing.” Red smirked. “i can guarantee he’ll tell ya in some arrogant way that ya can get a close look at his teeth again if ya want.”

Wait.

Red had seen that? Had he been watching the exchange between you and his brother the whole time?

You saw the toothy grin widen and knew what was coming before Red even parted those fangs, the gold fang flashing as he tilted his skull to the side. 

”if ya want ta get a close look at sharp teeth, ya can look at mine all ya like.” Red’s eye sockets reflected wicked glee. “i don’t bite.” The teeth snapped together before Red continued with a wink of an eye socket. “well, not much, unless ya like that kinda thing.” 

You feel as if you have created another kind of monster by having Red catch you ogling his brother’s sharp teeth. 

Edge, meanwhile, was apparently more affected than you anticipated as his voice yelled from the room.

”I WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR DASTARDLY HUG, HUMAN! I AM NOT TRICKED SO EASILY!” There was a beat of silence before Edge added, clearly self-conscious yet confident all the same. “AND DO NOT LISTEN TO RED! I CLEARLY HAVE SUPERIOR FANGS THAT ARE TO BE ADMIRED FOR THEIR SHARPNESS.”

Red gave you a smug look and a wink that made you break down into a fit of laughter. 

“I Have Fangs Too!” Blue said, proudly puffing out his chest.

”Really?” You attempted to get your laughter under control.

”Look!” Blue somehow parted his big toothy smile to reveal four rather adorable, pointy canine teeth.

Red’s laughter was the only thing that could he heard as you immediately went to poke your fingertips against Blue’s parted teeth, causing him to flush.

”heh heh. guess ya got some explainin’ ta do.” Red said to Sans, still snickering at the sight of Blue standing stock-still.

You didn’t get what Red meant as you moved your fingers away from Blue. You watched in confusion as he retreated into the kitchen.

”mweh.” Blue uttered, out of sight.

Okay, that was terribly adorable, but you did have to ask now.

”So...is there something I should have known about skeleton monster teeth?” You asked Sans.

Said skeleton ran a hand over his face as Red helpfully provided the answer.

”sensitive teeth, darlin’.” Red smirked again. “feeling up teeth like that is kinda private fer skeleton monsters and their partners. same goes fer most of the bones of our bodies.”

Whoops.

”Are you saying I did the monster equivalent of coming on to Edge and Blue?” You demanded, feeling your face heat up.

”well, fer monsters, it sorta means that ya want ta get closer to ‘em and that usually means bringin’ yer souls out and gettin’ intimate with ‘em with yer souls.” Red drawled, his smirk getting bigger. “so yeah, ya basically were askin’ my bro and short-stuff if they wanted ta have a close encounter with yer soul.”

“I guess there’s a lot I don’t know about monsters.” You said, as you ran a hand over your face in a similar way to Sans. 

“boss is gonna be so hilarious ta be around at the resort.” Red said, winking at you for a third time. “so the four of ya should have a good time bonding’ with one another.”

”what the hell happened here?” Stretch demanded as he suddenly appeared in the living room. “i wasn’t gone for that long. what, did you guys kiss or something? cop a feel of some teeth and bones?” The only response Stretch received was you being incredibly awkward while trying to figure out what to say while Sans stared up at the ceiling.

Red, however, let out a loud, rattling cackle, as if Stretch had said the funniest thing in the entire world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The skeleton povs just did not fit in well with the chapter, so their reactions to the bond will be put on the back burner for now, until there is a better spot for it. In place of that, there is brief communication with Sans and Blue in this chapter about how they feel about it (though Sans isn’t entirely honest, for reasons).
> 
> Next chapter: You find out that the monster hotel suite is not, in fact, at a beach resort, but a wintry paradise out in the middle of nowhere. Shame your clothes weren’t that practical for the cold weather but hey, you technically weren’t planning to go outside, even as pretty as it was. But nobody bothered to mention the skeleton monster that had taken over the basement of the hotel when you and your bond mates get turned around looking for the elevator. Oops :)  
> (Emphasis on only one monster instead of two aka be prepared for angst and sadness during that encounter-and an additional pairing in the tags).  
> Edit: going to actually post the next chapter tonight or tomorrow (7/20). Editing has gone very well this weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added tag for mention of past off-screen death.

Things moved very fast once Stretch returned from your apartment. When you could finally speak, you buried your face in your hands with a groan.

"I didn't know that skeleton monster's teeth and bones are sensitive." 

You heard Red laugh again from nearby.

"and where is...blue?" Stretch asked, glancing between you and Red.

"yer bro is in the kitchen with his skull probably covered all in blue `cause his teeth got felt up." Red supplied with a grin in his tone. "i stand by bein` available all day fer sharp teeth inspection, darlin`."

You groaned again in embarrassment as Stretch let out a long sigh.

"i'm gone for under a half hour and none of you bother to tell y/n anything useful about us." Stretch could be heard setting things down, which caused you to peer between your fingers. S tretch had brought with him a not often utilized suitcase of yours, a laptop bag, and another couple of paper bags filled with what appeared to be clothes. 

"I thought this was going to be only for a month." You asked the taller skeleton. "Why all the clothes?"

"you might not be able to do laundry as often, depending on how long it takes for your bond to settle." Stretch returned before he disappeared into the kitchen, and reappeared with his brother, who still had a dusting of blue across his cheekbones.

"Then what about clothing for them?" You motioned to Blue and Sans, and then to the door to the bedroom that Edge had yet to come out of.

"magic." Sans supplied with a grin. At your frown, he added. “our brothers will visit, and bring us anything we might need. besides, we don’t have many changes of clothing, so for me, my clothes get cleaned when I'm sleeping. that's usually when paps steals my clothes off the floor and-"

“Will We Have Access To A Laundry Machine At The Resort?" Blue inturrupted, apparently not wanting to hear about San`s dirty clothing.

You noticed that he was avoiding your eyes, if only because looking at you made him flush further.

Was touching teeth really that big of a deal?

Why wouldn't any of them had said something sooner?

“if we're there on our own, i would say yes." Sans said. He glanced over to you. "do you mind driving? i’d ask papyrus but he shouldn’t be in an enclosed space with us right now. and i never bothered to get a license for anything other than one of those mopeds.”

“I...have a license. So long as you have insurance and you’re fine with me driving...” you stared at Sans a moment. “What about what you did before?”

“the short cut?" Sans eye sockets scunched up as though he were giving it thought, before he shook his head. "eh, probably not the best idea for how far we’re going to have to go to get to the resort. plus, I haven’t been there before.” 

"Then yes, I can drive." You really _were_ doing this, weren't you? "But the car _is_ insured?"

“yup, it is. i’ll have stretch bring the car back for papyrus. he doesn’t work tomorrow anyway, and it’s gettin late.” Sans’ hands were back in his pockets. “it would be better to go now and get settled in, since there are less monsters and humans on the street right now.”

“How do we get Edge out of the room?” You asked curiously, eyeing the door. 

"i think red can take care of that?" Sans directed the question to the sharp-toothed skeleton.

"ain't gonna take very long. boss'll not want ta hear me givin' him shit." Red trotted over to the door and cheerfully kicked it down. "oy, jackass, git yer ass outta there and go get in papyrus' car! yer gonna go to that resort and yer gonna like it." Red abruptly side stepped as several jagged bones were flung in his direction. 

"IF YOU KEEP RUNNING YOUR MOUTH, I WILL SHUT IT FOR YOU." A very red-faced Edge emerged from the room to glare daggers at his brother. 

"but if ya do that, then how will i regale ya with my pun-tastic arsenal `bout-"

"ONE. MORE. WORD."

"canoodling." Red drawled.

"ENOUGH!" Edge stomped his foot against the floor. 

You saw Edge briefly look at you before those eye lights averted, and the scarred monster dusted even more red than before.

Yup.

You were definitely going to have to have a talk with all the skeleton monster's about proper boundaries. Because as much as you were interested in sharp fangs, you did not want to make anyone uncomfortable or to be coming on to a monster you barely even knew.

B efore you knew it, you were in the driver's seat of a very nice sports car, with Sans riding shot gun and Blue in the backseat trying to distract a sullen, oddly withdrawn Edge. 

But as you began to drive with input from Sans, you realized that yes, this was happening, and for whatever reason, it wasn't as scary as you initially thought it might have been. You didn't know if this had to do with the bond, or with the fact that the three other skeletons were giving you space. With the exception of Edge apparently not wanting anything to do with you, the other two appeared content to go with whatever you were comfortable with. It put you at ease, since this was far different than many human interactions you had had in the past, where people weren't always forthcoming with what they wanted from you.

The drive was almost relaxing, with Blue's cheerful chattering, Edge's dismissive huffs and Sans steady directions and occasional cracking of jokes. You were a little nervous that many of the streets you went down were dark, without the aid of any street lights, before you ended up on an equally dark drive down the highway with only the sports car's light as guidance.

It was fair to say you were a little distracted that you didn't notice the snow that had begun to fall until it had become a flurry.

"almost there." Sans said reassuringly. "storm won't set in 'till early morning."

You continued to follow Sans' directions, before you saw the resort in the distance, and let out a small gasp.

The resort you were pulling up to was overly lavish and gigantic. Before you reached the building itself, you'd noticed that you had driven past a forested area, and caves off the side of the road that went down underground. This secluded place was far enough away from Mt. Ebott that you weren’t sure if the mossy caves connected to the mountain. 

But back to the resort.

The building itself looked out of this world, like someone had thrown beautiful pieces of architecture together from different time periods from all over the world and decided it looked good. And it did, even if some of the pieces jutting out here and there seemed out of place with the rest of the building. 

You drove the rest of the way on auto pilot, dazed over the appearance of the place you would apparently be staying for a month. Seriously, how was this suddenly your life when only a few hours ago you planned to get groceries and crash for the night? Putting the car in park, you stared out the passenger side window at the pillars and intricate design of the front entrance to the resort, with neon signage declaring the name of the resort in an unfamiliar language. 

This had to be a mistake. 

This resort was far too nice for anyone to be able to afford a whole floor to themselves, let alone free roam of the community areas.  Suddenly, you had the urge to ask if there was a pool, but held it in as Sans opened all of the car doors with magic.

"mettaton sure had a lot of fun designing the place, huh?" Sans drawled as he stared up at the sign with a grin. "'snowed-in paradise'? at least someone appreciates a joke."

“WOWIE! THIS PLACE IS AMAZING, SANS!” Blue exclaimed as he all but threw himself out the car, practically vibrating with excitement. 

Were....were his eye lights _stars_?

You tried to check, but when Blue turned back to the car to beam at you, his eye lights were back to normal.

Maybe it had been a trick of the light?

Th e neon lights _were_ rather over the top.

Edge slid out of the car next, crossing his arms as he haughtily glared around at the snow falling, as if it were nature’s fault that he was there. Then, without looking back at you, Edge stomped over to Blue and picked him up, tucking him under an arm. Edge similarly picked Sans up, but threw the smaller skeleton over his shoulder. Edge half-turned to the side to regard you with his eye lights,  before he faced forward. 

You guessed he wanted to get inside, despite the fact that he had begun to look around again in interest. You were about to grab your belongings when blue magic surrounded them and lifted them, drifting alongside you as you got out of the car.

Sans’ left eye socket was glowing as he dangled over Edge’s shoulder, seemingly content with being carried.

“Lazybones.” You mouthed, getting a wider grin from Sans.

“EDGE! I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF WALKING MYSELF!” Blue squirmed under Edge`s other arm. "I DO NOT NEED TO BE CARRIED LIKE A BABYBONES!"

"enjoy the free ride." Sans suggested. 

"I WILL DROP YOU BOTH INTO A LARGE SNOWBANK IF YOU DO NOT SHUT UP. I CANNOT PROPERLY SEARCH FOR THREATS IF YOU TWO ARE CHATTERING AWAY." Edge said crossly, as he made his way to the front door of the resort.

"shouldn't be anyone here but an occasional staff member working on maintenance." Sans responded, prodding Edge's shoulder guard with a phalange. "they'll be sure to keep a healthy distance from us."

"THAT IS NO REASON TO NOT BE A LITTLE CAUTIOUS." Edge used the hand holding onto Sans' legs to give him a sharp prod in return. 

You walked past your three bond mates to stand in front of the main entryway. The design of the door held many swirling and interlocking designs, so you stood there for a moment to appreciate the craftsmanship. Someone had spent a long time designing this place, as you glanced over to either side at the windows and the pillars. Sans had mentioned someone called Mettaton. Why did that name sound familiar to you?

Edge let out an annoyed huff from behind you, which prompted you to open the door with a roll of your eyes. For a guy who didn’t seem to want to be anywhere near you, Sans or Blue, Edge was doing a poor job of it. Especially if he actually wanted to get into the resort and to the suite Sans had booked them.

You walked forward to let Edge enter in after you, but you were distracted just inside the foyer by the ridiculously over the top decorated stairs that led up to a second level. Someone had apparently gotten there before you and had decorated the place, with a lot of suggestive signs about what one could do with a new life bond. Some of the signs had you blushing while Blue and Edge spluttered in embarrassment, their cheekbones darkly flushing.

"what is it? you all got quiet." Sans asked, half twisting as he propped himself up with a hand on Edge's shoulder. You watched Sans take in the hastily made up signs, and while there was a faint hint of cyan across his cheekbones, he seemed to find it hilarious. Sans cracked up and lightly knocked his skull against Edge's with a wheeze.

"IT IS NOT FUNNY!" Edge snapped, embarrassment lacing his voice. "WHO TELLS LIFE BOND MATES TO DO...TO DO _THAT_ LEVEL OF CANOODLING?"

"IT IS RATHER BOLD FOR SOMEONE TO...TO MAKE THOSE SUGGESTIONS." Blue agreed, looking away from the cheery designs. "DID RED HAPPEN TO...TO GET HERE BEFORE US?"

"IF THIS IS HIS DOING, I WILL-"

"...is there a party goin' on?" A quiet voice suddenly asked. "...can i join in on the festivities?"

You saw your bond mates all freeze up, and watched as Sans' eye flashed cyan and a little yellow as he looked past you.

"I TOLD YOU WE NEEDED TO BE VIGILANT!" Edge bared his teeth as he dropped Blue and formed a sharp piece of bone in hand.

"Y/N! RUN!" Blue landed, similarly bringing forth an attack, looking horrified by whatever was behind you.

"...if things are too _axe_ -travagent for me to be here."

You froze up as skeletal hands seized you from behind. 

"...i will take my leave with a snack."

The last thing you saw were all three of your bond mates ready to attack whoever had just grabbed you.

Then, they were gone.

Everything was briefly dark as you experienced that weird falling sensation. Then, w hoever had grabbed you let go, and you collapsed to the ground.

It hurt.

Your whole body hurt as you lie on the floor, half curled up as you hugged yourself. 

Why were you in such agony?

Was this what happened when one was too far away from a bond mate? You recalled Edge collapsing near the park, and Blue had looked like he had been in physical pain when Stretch attempted to lead him away.

Okay.

_ Okay. _

So, this was a bad situation to be in, since you could barely move without feeling emotional and physical pain, as if you were being slowly torn apart.

"...thought you would have run by now." The quiet voice from before said to you. "...s'not any fun to chase someone." The voice let out a slow sigh. "...if they don't try and escape."

You heard footsteps approaching you, and a rustle of clothes. Blinking your eyes open, you froze up again at the sight that greeted you. It was a skeleton monster, and he was looking down at you with a single, glowing red eye light, which was blow wide in his left eye socket. The other socket was a dark void. What disturbed you the most was that this monster looked a lot like Sans, minus the large hole on the side of his skull. His clothes were worn and tattered, and stained with what suspiciously looked like blood. What did you in was the slippers the skeleton sported, a faded version of what Sans wore.

"....looks like you've seen a ghost." The Sans-clone said with an empty smile. "...guess i did too, seeing someone that looks like me."

Why the hell was this skeleton monster's toothy smile so much creepier than the other monster's?

"why do you look like Sans?" You managed to ask. It was incredibly disturbing to hear the wheezing, half-hysterical laughter that came out of the skeleton monster.

"...that's hilarious." The skeleton snickered. He idly reached up and hooked a few phalanges into his empty right eye socket. "....because my name _is_ sans."

Through the haze of being separated from your bond mates, you remember someone talking about other universes. Had that someone meant...that there were alternate versions of the same person. How was that even possible? And yet there you were, in a dark place with a very horrifically wounded Sans lookalike.

"...guess from that expression you aren't lying." Sans hummed distractedly, before his grin hitched back up. "....seems more universes bein' out there was true, so i suppose you can call me axe, since this clearly ain`t my home."

What kind of a name was that?

A cleaver appeared out of nowhere into Axe's hand, an oddly vacant look crossing his skull as it tilted to the side.

"That isn't an axe." You unhelpfully point out.

"...my axe is back home, so this`ll have to do." Axe stared at the cleaver for a moment before blankly staring down in your direction. "...nice to _meat_ ya, by the way. you'll be an _axe_ -ellent meal for me and my bro."

What.

He wanted to do _what_ with you?

You narrowly managed to roll yourself out of the way of a swinging blade. Holy shit was that terrifying as it sliced through the air right where you had been. You curled up again with a faint whimper when you felt a corresponding pang in your chest that you presumed belonged to Sans, Edge or Blue. You honestly didn't think you were going to be dragged off by some lunatic that apparently wanted to _eat_ you. There was the full expectation to be hit with the next swing, but you heard Axe let out a sharp, yet slow, breath instead.

"...interesting." 

You turned your head to the side, since that was about as much as you could manage without feeling pain.

"...i didn't know that humans could have multiple life bond mates." Axe let his cleaver vanish into thin air as he studied you with his single glowing eye. "...might not be there all the time." Axe tapped his skull near the cracked, gaping hole in his head. "...but i ain't stupid enough to harm another monster's bond mate." Axe brightened. "...i know. while we wait for your bond mates, you can meet my brother." Axe stepped forward and helped you stand. "...he`s close by."

There wasn't much you could do apart from lean against him to remain upright. Axe seemed to avoid touching you apart from the arm around your back as he led you further into the darkness of...wherever the hell you were. It was hard for you to do much of anything, separated from your bond mates. You figured that this meant they were also out of commission, and would be unable to help you because there was presumably too much distance between you. More than before but still too far apart to let you function properly. You didn't mention any of this to Axe. 

"...i want to show paps that there is at least one human with monster bond mates." Axe said as he carefully helped you down a set of stairs, and over to a door. "...need to show him that not all humans are bad, just like he told me." 

You didn't realize just how much assistance you needed with walking, since apparently your soul was trying to drive you back in your bond mates' direction. 

Axe opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, and led you inside over to a chair, which you gratefully collapsed on to. Axe moved past you, further into the room, and began to speak.

"...heya, papyrus."

There was a brief pause, but no corresponding greeting.

"...yeah, i know i should be more careful when i go out, but it's quiet in this place."

Another pause.

"...no, there isn't a lot of food in this place right now."

Axe sighed.

"...we're both hungry, but we're on the surface. there is plenty of food, we just need to watch our step and not get caught."

Another, longer silence.

"...yeah, that's not happening. that human's got bond mates. monster bond mates."

You were starting to feel very uncomfortable at the silence. You thought Axe said he was going to talk to his brother?

"...i know, i know. you liked to tell me stories about all the different kind of bonds." Sans hesitated, then let out a laugh. "...me? nah, bro, i'm not cut out for a life bond. too broken for that. but if you really want an answer, i guess a friendship or companion bond."

What the hell was a companion bond?

Had Sans and the others really left out other kinds of bonds between monsters? Just how many were there, and how wasn't every monster in existence not all bonded together in some way or another? What caused them to form?

"...their bond mates should be here soon, so i should introduce you two."

You continue to find it very odd that there is no response to Axe's conversation. Just his voice and then silence. When you feel that you can raise your head, you do so. And despite the fear of being in a seemingly dangerous monster's presence, some pity clawed its way in at what you saw.

Axe was talking to a red scarf and some clothing that appeared to have been deliberately arranged on the chair. There was gray specks here and there that clung to the fabric in the dim lighting.

You felt a little ill.

What had happened to Axe's brother?

Was that...was that gray _dust_?

You probably shouldn’t be here.

What could have dusted a monster in the middle of nowhere?

"...hey, human." Axe turned to you. With that wide red eye light and the hole in his head, he cut a ghastly figure in the gloom. "...say hello to my brother."

You can’t find any words.

"...i know my brother is cool and all, but he shouldn't leave you speechless." Axe frowned at you. "...don't you at least have the courtesy to say hello to someone?"

"b...but there isn't..." You didn’t get to finish your sentence because Axe was suddenly inches away from your face.

"...i won't ask again." 

You don’t have to say anything, because suddenly, Axe was yanked backward with some magic that was orange in color.

"hey." S tretch greeted, appearing out of nowhere to stand by the chair you were seated on. The tall skeleton's left eye socket glowed as he held out a hand.

"...what're you..." Axe was pinned to the floor by the magic. At first, he fought against the invisible restraint before Axe seemed to realize that he wasn't strong enough to resist. With a frustrated exhale, Axe went limp, before his voice issued out as a hoarse whisper.  "don't hurt my brother." 

"you okay?" Stretch asked, even as he moved forward to study the clothing on the chair.

“Yes. He didn’t hurt me.” You glanced down at Axe, who had begun to mumble. “He told me he wanted to introduce me to his brother. To show him that he was right that not all humans are bad and that some can bond but...” You shakily pointed at the clothing. 

"i did warn the others that an empty building might attract unwanted company." Stretch sighed but didn’t let up on his magic as he flicked his fingers. The motion brought Axe up to eye height so that Stretch could look him in his eye light. "why didn't you let y/n's bond mates in? they were outside this door."

"...didn't hear them." Axe blinked at Stretch before his eye light settled on you. Then, he looked back at the taller skeleton. "...bond mates don't need to be in the same room all the time, do they?"  


“for a new bond, it is necessary. though it seems that the link is at least closed after the car ride to the resort.” Stretch said, as he let the pressure of the magic bear down on Axe. “i think you’ll understand when say that i didn’t like seeing my younger bro curled up on the ground like that, clearly in soul pain.”

"...don't hurt my brother." Axe said again, raising his head against the pressure of magic.

You see Stretch’s glowing eye burned with more magic.

"...what are you-" Axe twitched as his eye light widened to completely fill the eye socket. Axe strained to move against the magic that held him in midair as his voice cracked. "...please. please don't say it." 

"then i won’t say it." Stretch said, looking resigned. "i'll show you."

You watched as Stretch carried Axe through the air and over to the chair as he forced him in close, pointing. 

"the two of you came from another universe that is different than this one. was he like this when you got here?"

"...yes." Axe`s skull was turned to the side.

"so when did this happen?" 

"...'bout a month ago. maybe?" Axe looked tired as he let out a self-deprecating laugh. "...heh, can't keep track of time or my own thoughts very well. but there was nothing to eat here. too weak to catch anyhtin' in the forest. too exhausted to try and use any shortcuts." 

"the resort isn’t open yet." Stretch said. 

"...he's here." Axe said suddenly, eye flaring a deeper red. "...he’s not dusted. my bro is just resting."

"those are clothes with dust on them." Stretch told Axe firmly. "what happened before you ended up here?"

"...underground was getting emptier by the day."  Axe reached up through the magic that held him and hooked a few phalanges into his empty right eye socket. "...kept paps in the house. we were gettin' attack more and more. couldn’t hold em off forever, so when they got in, i killed them." Axe held tighter to his socket. "killed anyone who tried to come into the house to hurt me and my bro. he doesn’t like fighting, so i fought for both of us. couldn't use my magic after i received this..." Axe waved at the hole in hisskull. "...so i had to hack them apart with an axe instead. was good eatin' for awhile..." Axe trailed off as if lost in thought. 

You felt rather ill, remembering Axe attacking you earlier. 

Would he really have _eaten_ you?

"and then?" Stretch didn’t seem to be faring any better, but he pressed Axe anyhow.

"...it was finally quiet." Axe said. "...don't know if that meant there was no one left to kill, or if the survivors hid. but soon, there was nothing to eat." Axe flashed a crooked smile. "and then there was one monster left, that nearly did me and paps in, but i came out on top. lotta magic being flung around. but if there were any other stragglers, i couldn't let them get us. so i took paps to the machine in our basement." Axe's left eye socket lowered a little as he gripped his right socket tighter. "...figured if nothing else, i could try and reset everything, before we both dusted from our souls cracking into pieces." Axe went quiet again and stared off past Stretch, before abruptly speaking again. "...paps couldn't talk or move. i had to carry him to this basement." Axe vaguely indicated the building as a whole. "i went out to try and find food, but there wasn't much, and my bro wouldn't eat. kept tryin` to encourage him."

You and Stretch exchanged a quick glance with one another before Stretch focused on Axe.

“I can feel magic on those clothes.” Stretch informed the other monster. “before you came here, it looks like you-“

“...don't.” Axe said as he slowly shook his head, his phalanges drawing back from his eye socket in favor of tossing the hood of his jacket over his broken skull. “...please don't say it. please don’t.”

“You dusted him.” Stretch said firmly. “with the kind of intent i sensed earlier, and you LV? you must have lost yourself to the killing and your brother likely tried to snap you out of it, only to be dusted. i know my bro tries to wake me out of my nightmares, only to nearly be injured.”

“...i didn’t.” Axe whispered, clutching his threadbare hood with both hands. “...i didn’t dust him. i wouldn’t have done that to my own brother. i would have never hurt..." Axe let out a broken sound and freed himself from Stretch’s magic. Axe dropped down in front of the chair with his brother`s clothing on it, beginning to mumble as his head bowed. What appeared to be tears dropped down from beneath his hood to the floor.

You felt really bad for Axe in that moment. Oddly enough, you could _feel_ his guilt, grief and remorse palpably, and the desperate need to have someone, anyone, make the pain he felt lessen to a bearable degree. For some reason, you wanted to reach out and comfort him. Much to your complete surprise, you found that you were on your feet and had begun to walk toward Axe.

What?

Why were you...

"...it`s a lie." Axe uttered brokenky, the tips of his phalanges digging deep grooves into the floor. "...you're fine, bro. heh. you'll be okay. I won't let anyone hurt you." The tears began to fall even more to the ground as Axe bowed his head and let out a choked noise. "...no. nononononono..." Hands grasped the hood and held on tight before a heartwrenching scream of loss ripped out of Axe as he slammed his fists into the ground, a rattling of bones mixing in with sharp, wet breaths.

A pang of sympathy went through you, and you started toward Axe again.

Stretch swore under his breath and hastily grabbed your arm, halting you in your tracks.

You frowned in confusion as Stretch led you to the door, unlocked it, and led the both of you out. Stretch then slammed the door shut after letting go of your arm and  leaned against the door as he dew out what looked like a cigarette. 

"i can't believe you did that." Stretch lit the cigarette with magic and took a long drag before letting out orange smoke. "did the others tell you nothing more about monster bonds?"

“Y/N! YOU’RE SAFE!” Blue hit you in a hug.

“Y...yeah, I’m okay.” You patted your bond mate on the back as you felt Blue press his face against your shoulder in relief. You glanced past him to find Sans and Edge nearby, even if the latter was acting as if it wasn’t that a big deal that you were gone.

“what happened?” Sans asked.

“y/n...they...” Sretch looked at you, then pinched his nasal cavity and let out a sharp breath. He took another drag of his cigarette before speaking. “i hope you are all right with y/n accidentally forming a companion bond.”

“I did WHAT?!” You exclaimed. “How is that even possible? I wasn’t anywhere near him?” You jabbed a finger in Edge’s direction. “And don’t you say a damn thing! I don’t even completely understand how a bond is even formed since I was only told the basics. And yes, I panicked over it, but if there was a possibility of me adding someone else to a bond so easily-"

“it’s a separate one, actually.” Stretch interrupted. and it's different from a life bond. besides, i said earlier that the link of the bond is closed for the one you have with these three." Stretch waved his cigarette at Blue, Edge and Sans. "and now, you get to spend time together, but now you’ll have to spend time with your companion." Stretch frowned, turning his skull to regard the closed door. “maybe he should be dusted too. he has much too high LV to be completely safe around.”

“Don’t go around dusting anyone.” You said firmly. “I thought it was bad to kill someone off in a bond because it would hurt their soul?”

“not if their soul is linked to other monsters in a separate bond.” Stretch returned with a shrug. "plus a companion bond is different." Stretch paused, crushing the cigarette. "damn. actually, dusting him would only make things worse _because_ a companion bond is deeply emotional and empathy-based."

“What Is Going On, Brother?” Blue asked, finally letting you go from the hug he had wrapped you in.

“just like I said. y/n inadvertently forged a companion bond to a forgetful, crazy sans that accidentally killed his own brother because he got too much LOVE.”

Sans eye lights suddenly go out as Edge went rigid. Blue's gloved hands clapped over his teeth.

You didn't know why they did this until you felt someone sag against you and heard a low, quiet voice murmur to you.

"...m'not crazy."

Apparently, Axe had followed Stretch out of the room via a quick shortcut, and as you turned, Axe collapsed into your arms. His bones rattled faintly as Axe pressed his face pressed into your shoulder, his own quivering as his hands grasped the back of your sweatshirt.

"...it isn't real." Axe's voice was barely there. "...he's not dead." 

"WHY IN THE HELL IS THERE ANOTHER ONE OF YOU HERE?" Edge demanded of Sans, whose eye lights had yet to reappear. "SANS? YOU LAZYBONES, DID YOU HEAR ME?"

"E-EDGE, I BELIVE WE MAY HAVE A SITUATION." Blue said warily. 

"and you have the gall to tell me to chill out." Stretch muttered as he let out a soft curse.

Sans` left eye socket suddenly flared to life with cyan and hints of yellow as magic began to spark in the air.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME. _NOW_ YOU CHOOSE TO ACT?"

"SANS, WE SHOUL D REALLY TALK THIS OUT..."

"Can someone _please_ tell me what the hell is going on?" You demanded as you subconsciously hugged Axe closer to your body. "And maybe you all could tell me if there are any other mysterious bonds that I should know about before I accidentally make even more of them?" 

You did not expect Sans to abruptly attack, aiming for Axe with a flurry of bones.

"...hold tight." Axe acted quickly as he m oved both of you out of the way using a shortcut.

A very brief shortcut.

One that only took you three feet to the side.

Edge and Blue moved to stand in front of you and Axe, as Sans raised his left hand.

Two large, dragon-like skulls suddenly manifested, hanging in midair over Sans, crackling heavily with magic.

"SANS. STAND DOWN AT ONCE!"

"Please! You Could Hit Y/N!"

Whatever had happened between you and Axe apparently didn't sit well Sans, but it wasn't like there was anything you could do apart from continuing to hold onto Axe, who didn't seem like he wanted to let go of you. 

Edge and Blue had since summoned up their own attacks, but Sans seemed to only be focused on Axe as his magic flared up, stronger than before. An empty, dangerous voice emitted from Sans as his eye light went out.

"g e t a w a y f r o m o u r b o n d m a t e."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter because I have no chill and editing went very well. Posted this a day later than intended since Axe wanted more attention aka even more editing was needed because of that (I hope y`all are okay with these longer chapters). Anxiety is a shitty thing but damn does it ever help me write at times. I am giving some of the monsters different kinds of relationships with the reader, to kind of change things up.  
> FYI: If there are ever any tags that should be included that I don't have, let me know.
> 
> Next chapter: Edge and Blue react to your new companion while Sans needs to chill out. Once everything is resolved, for the time being, you finally get to spend some time with everyone. Since, you know, it would be really nice to actually get to know your bond mates, as you've known them for less than half a day at this point.


	5. Chapter 5

A potential fight in a narrow hallway was not something that you wanted to experience. 

Ever.

Not even if it was because someone was trying to defend you from a perceived threat.

You were taken aback by Edge being the first one to speak at Sans’ display.

“AND YOU ACCUSE ME OF POSTURING, YOU LAZYBONES? DO YOU NOT THINK THAT BLUE OR MYSELF WOULD INTERCEDE ON A BOND MATE’S BEHALF?” Edge growled at Sans irritably before he turned his attention to Axe. Edge’s eye lights briefly flicked over the hole in the shorter monster’s head. “IF HE CAN SURVIVE SUCH A WOUND, YOUR PALTRY DAMAGE OUTPUT WILL DO NOTHING.”

“Sans?” Blue lowered his voice as he stood between said monster and Edge, but his eye lights lingered on Axe. You could see a mix of nervousness and concern. “I Think It Would Be Smart To Make The Best Of This Situation, Without Unnecessary Fighting.”

Sans’ magic flared, his blazing cyan and yellow eye fixed on Axe as he began to send bone attacks flying through the air.

“and this is why adding different bonds in at the same time isn’t a good idea.” Stretch sighed as he took at hold of Axe, short cutting to one side to avoid the bones.  


“CAREFUL, BROTHER.” Blue watched Stretch evade Sans’ attacks, including the occasional beaming light from the floating dragon-like skulls.

”i am being careful.” The taller skeleton casually blipped in and out of existence with Axe in tow.

It was kind of dizzying to watch but it allowed you to wonder why Stretch was helping Axe out, despite his earlier words. Was it only because Stretch had remembered what a companion bond entailed?  You had to get some answers but it was probably best to try and snap Sans out of his anger. Despite not knowing him for very long, the relentless attacking was not something that you expected of what had appeared to be an otherwise sedate monster.   


Axe, while seeming to be fine at first, finally appeared to get fed up as he slipped free of Stretch’s grasp, and stood facing Sans with a scary look in that blood red pupil. Jagged, broken bones began to knock Sans’ own bone attacks down, but from the sweat already beading on Axe’s skull, it was an exhausting effort. And his own lethargy was shown in the way that he was side-swiped by a stray bone, causing him to collapse.

You felt a rush of fear that you didn’t know where it came from but all you could see in that moment was Axe’s resigned expression. Before you even knew it, you had stepped in between Sans and Axe.

Sans hesitated, seeing you there, which gave Edge and Blue time to act.

Blue crashed into Sans from the front, wrapping his arms around where the other monster’s waist would be while Edge stooped and hooked his arms beneath Sans’, twisting them swiftly behind the shorter skeleton’s back. With a quick adjustment of legs, Blue and Edge trapped Sans between them.

The attacks completely halted, the random bones vanishing out of sight. The dragon-like skulls remained hovering ominously in the air.

You crouched down next to Axe, who hadn’t bothered getting up yet. It was unnerving to see him stare blankly at the ceiling above. Hesitantly, you rested a hand on his shoulder before glancing back up.

”SANS! I MUST INSIST THAT YOU STOP THIS AT ONCE. PLEASE.” Blue kept his arms locked around Sans when he attempted to move. “YOU HEARD WHAT STRETCH SAID! YOU CAN’T JUST TRY AND DUST SOMEONE IN A COMPANION BOND. YOU MIGHT HURT Y/N!”

“i w o n ‘t h u r t t h e m.” Sans' voice was practically growling as his blazing eye light fixed on Axe.  


You couldn’t help but see that while Sans was attempting to discreetly free himself, he wasn’t trying very hard, which presumably meant that he didn’t want to hurt Blue or Edge.

“I CAN FEEL YOUR MAGIC SHIFTING.” Edge`s own growl overrode Sans` as the scarred skeleton gripped the others`s arms harder. “IF YOU WERE UNAWARE, IT IS A VERY SIMILAR SENSATION TO WHEN MY OWN BROTHER IS GETTING READY TO USE A SHORT CUT. KNOW THAT IF YOU ATTEMPT TO USE ONE OF YOUR SHORT CUTS, I WILL FIND SOME ROPE AND RETURN THE FAVOR OF WHAT YOU DID TO ME EARLIER.” Edge’s sockets narrowed at the top of Sans` skull. “THOUGH I MAY JUST USE A PILLOW TO SMOTHER YOUR IRRITATING WORDS.”

“do i need to call in papyrus? he offered to come along with me.” Stretch tossed out into the resulting silence.  


You watched as Sans’ eye lights became pinpricks before he finally relaxed between Edge and Blue.   


“i guess i wouldn’t want blue to see me like this either.” Stretch sighed, hands resting in his pockets once more.   


“...m’all right.” Axe murmured to you. He was still lying down, but this didn’t prevent him from reaching up to pat your hand on his shoulder. “...didn’t take any damage. just not as quick as i used to be, 'specially with me bein’ hungry and all right now."

“What is...” You wanted to know what the hell is going on but was prevented from asking the question as Blue and Edge suddenly stumbled into one another.

Sans was gone.  


Since he was still after Axe, you figured he wouldn’t have gotten too far, and found that Sans had, in fact, appeared alongside you. In what was probably a stupid move, you hastily got to your feet and grabbed Sans’ arm, only for him to react in a startled way before the scenery around you suddenly went black.

What the hell?

Why was it so dark, and why...why  was Sans standing further away from you now? 

Wait.   


You quickly looked around the immediate area.

Everything was dark, apart from Sans, though he was in black and white, without any color saturation.

In fact... 

There was no color anywhere apart from a cartoony-looking cyan heart floating in front of you. 

Why was that there?

Huh.

You reached up toward the heart, only to freeze as it floated toward you.  


Why couldn’t you feel your own body? How come only the heart moved in response? 

What was this?

“Sans?” You eventually asked, a little shakily, as you stared across at the skeleton in question. As the cyan heart bobbed around, you watched the way Sans stood still with his hands stuffed into his pocket and...was that sweat beading on his skull?

“it’s...it is an encounter.” Sans said eventually. “didn’t mean to drag you into one. i just...i wanted to protect my bond mates from an unknown monster?” The last was said as a question, as if Sans were attempting to explain his reasoning for acting as he did.

“And hearing it was a companion bond didn’t deter you?” You asked incredulously. "I know I don't entirely understand what it means yet, but you do, right?"

Sans shuffled awkwardly in place.

”Sans?” You prompted.

”sometimes it is hard to completely stamp out instinctual responses...” Sans mumbled before he let out a low sigh.

“Why is this here?” You had some fun moving the cyan heart around, and found out soon enough that Sans was watching it closely.

Interesting.

”it’s your soul.” Sans sounded distracted as his eye lights followed the heart.

Oh.

You...felt this may have been mentioned to you before by one of the monsters you had befriended a year ago. But it had been a quick conversation, and none of the monsters present then dared to drag you into an encounter to demonstrate. Staring at the heart, you noticed that there was a hint of yellow and green within the cyan. The next immediate thought you had was whether or not it was bad to have your actual soul out in the open.

Maybe you ought to figure out how to get out of this encounter?

”you okay there, kid?” Sans asked.

Oh.

How long had you been quiet?

“Since it seems like Axe has to stick around, does this mean that once the month is up here, he is going to be staying at that apartment with you and the others?" It was so weird to hear your voice echoing out of nowhere.

“might be dangerous, even if he had an apartment of his own.” Sans answered after a moment’s thought, his eye lights still intently watching the slowly moving heart.

“Do you think it might be possible to have an exception made for me?” You asked, slowing the heart to a stop. “I could share an apartment with Axe and that would make it so that I could live closer to the rest of you." It was still a little weird to think what was going on with your life. "I did have a tentative plan to look for a cheaper place to rent than the place I’m living at currently.” You let slip a scowl. “Plus, I was not aware that apartments weren’t supposed to split monsters and humans between floors.”

“that might be a possibility but i’ll have to think about it and make some calls.” Sans seemed to be calming down. His eye lights had long since gone back to normal. " there’ll be plenty of time to do some thinking in the month that we are all going to be here.”

“Any reason those gigantic, laser spewing dragon skulls are still floating up there like they’re going fire any second?” You questioned, unable to keep the waver out of your voice. You watched as Sans dismissed them, as if he hadn’t noticed they were still there. You look around the dark. “How long do encounters last?”

”until you spare me or I spare you.” Sans said.

”Well, before that...” You had to stop thinking about the way you just seemed to float in the darkness here. “What about Axe? You’re not going to attack him again, are you?”  


“i won’t.” Sans sighed again. “real tired out right now, so I don’t think I have the guts to go all out again so soon.” Sans’ rubbed a hand over his skull. “But i’m not gonna say i’m exactly thrilled that you somehow managed to form a companion bond with someone like that.“

“That’s the other thing!” You exclaim, pointing a finger at the now bemused skeleton monster. “I need to know about all of the different kinds of bonds. Because there’s something I’m missing. There’s no way I’m not, otherwise every monster would be locked into some kind of bo nd apart from those with friends and family.“

“i guess we never did finish explaining.” Sans agreed, his stance relaxing further. “guess we gotta get that covered before you accidentally form another bond without being able to give serious thought to it first.”

You see a text appear before you that indicates that Sans is sparing you. You are able to select the mercy option that appeared from seemingly nowhere,  and the encounter ended. The darkness vanished, bringing you back to the area outside of the basement door.  


It was unsurprising that Blue was there by you side,  giving you a tight hug while he scolded Sans.  


“DON’T JUST DRAG OUR BOND MATE INTO AN ENCOUNTER LIKE THAT. IT COULD HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS FOR BOTH OF YOU!”

"it went all right." Sans said. "got myself back under control. won't happen again."

"...dunno, instincts can be pretty strong." Axe moved to your side as Blue relased you from his hug. Axe glanced down at his hand, and you saw he was holding his brother's tattered red scarf. The single red eye light eventually met Sans` "...do one. an encounter." He held the scarf tighter. "...would rather have your questions answered and leave it at that."

“s`fine with me." Sans shrugged. 

Right before your eyes, the space seemed to become warped, and you could no longer see Sans or Axe, but you could feel a sense of unease that you presumed came from Axe.

"seems like things have calmed down." Stretch commented from where he was now leaning against a wall.

"IT SEEMS SO, BROTHER." Blue agreed, putting his hands on his hips. Hip bones? "I THINK WE CAN HANDLE THINGS FROM HERE, SO FEEL FREE TO GO HOME. I`LL BE SURE TO KEEP YOU INFORMED OF HOW THINGS ARE GOING."

"sure thing, bro." Stretch walked over to Blue and lowered his voice, though you caught the words. "stay safe."

Blue waved his brother off with a smile.

Stretch blinked out of existence right before your eyes, just as Sans and Axe came back from ...wherever they had been.

"ARE ALL OF YOU DONE DAWDLING?" Edge demanded. "IT IS LATE, AND I WANT TO SEE THIS SUITE WE ARE TO BE STAYING IN."

"I could use a nap after all of that excitement." Sans said as he turned and headed back down the hall. "elevator is this way."

Blue and Edge followed along after Sans while Axe quietly came up alongside you.

"Was the encounter...okay?" You asked, as the two of you walked side by side behind the three other monsters.

"...was about what i expected it to be." Axe said, slowly moving closer to you until he could walk nearly pressed up against you. He held his brothe`s scarf against his chest. "...lookin' in a mirror is a pretty unnerving experience."

At those words, you side-glanced at Axe, to see his wide red eye light looking at Sans' back with suspicion. It was off-putting to see a monster resemble another so much.  Perhaps whatever had happened in the encounter was bothering Axe more than he let on?

Sans was right that the elevator was closemby, but you didn't expect the tension that rose from four skeleton monsters being in such close proximity. This made the elevator ride rather...intense.

Edge glared at Axe malevolently the whole time while Axe grinned eerily at him in return.  Sans stood near the buttons and doors with a fixed grin while Blue crossed his arms and shook his head with a sigh.

The elevator reaching the top floor and opening its  doors had been a relief, as well as a bit of a distraction. There was a lot of crazy extravagant decor, all of which looked insanely expensive to you, from the vases to the paintings to the wallpaper and statues.

Edge stomped down the long hallway, grumbling about excessive decorations.

Blue`s skull swiveled around to take all the sights in as he seized your hand and Sans'. You reached out to grab Axe`s free hand, before you were led down the long hallway. Before you knew it, you were crossing the threshold into suite, where you let go of both monster 's hands to let out a gasp.

This place looked like a house more than a hotel suite.

"WOWIE! THIS PLACE IS EVEN BIGGER THAN I ANTICIPATED IT TO BE!" Blue exclaimed. "THERE'S SO MUCH SPACE!"

"IT IS ADEQUATE." Edge said archly as he crossed his arms and looked around imperiously. "BUT A FEW MODIFICATIONS COULD BE MADE."

There was a comfy looking couch in the living room area which your gratefully collapsed on while Sans and Axe both let out a chuckle. Blue plopped himself down on the couch next to you. From the angle you were sitting on the couch, you could see that Axe was quietly inspecting the other skeletons before he settled on the couch on your other side.

"so." Sans remained standing as he stated at the floor, before lifting his skull to meet your eyes. "guess we should do some more explaining about the different types of bonds,"

"That would be really helpful." You said, watching as Edge sat down on a nearby chair. "Family and friendship bonds make sense to me, so knowing more about other kinds of bonds would be useful."

“like it was said before, life bonds are for life, and bond mates need to spend time with one another for everyone involved to be healthy and happy. spending too long apart can negatively affect the soul and cause monsters involved in the bond to become hopeless, because souls are so closely tied to emotional well-being. and if something bad happens to a bond mate, it can hurt other bond mates to the point of dusting.” 

“That doesn’t seem like the best kind of set up for a relationship.” You pointed out. “Spending time together is all right but how do you prevent someone from being hurt? Nobody can constantly protect someone else.”

”MOST MONSTERS DO NOT MAKE SUCH BONDS LIGHTLY, UNLESS IT IS IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT.” Edge snapped irritably. “AND LIFE BONDS ARE ORDINARILY BETWEEN MONSTERS, SO THEY ARE INSTINCTUALLY AWARE OF WHAT IT ENTAILS. SUCH AS HOW TO KEEP ONE’S BOND MATE SAFE WHEN THEY MAY BE APART FROM ONE ANOTHER. THERE IS ALSO THE MATTER OF SHIELDING, SO AS TO NOT BE PUT INTO A SITUATION WHERE YOUR BOND MATE`S PAIN CRIPPLES YOU TO THE POINT OF BRING UNABLE TO MOVE."

"Monsters Are Also More In Tune With Their Souls And Know How To Subconsciously Shield Themelves To Prevent Accidental Bondings." Blue added in.

”and since you are human, there will likely be some differences from a normal monster bond, like i mentioned before.” Sans ran a hand over his skull, his phalanges tapping lightly. “so we’ll just take it day by day, and i’ll get in touch with alphys as soon as possible.”

“Right...” That sounded fine by you, since you were certain that you were about to be bombarded with even more information. “And what about a companion bond?”

"not sure what the human equivalent would be, but essentially, but those in a companion bond are able to soothe one another and vice versa. and unlike life bonds, the link of a companion bond is closed instantly. but intent is also needed to form the bond, but it can be more subtle.” Sans’ grin twitched into something of a frown. “this type of bond is very...grounding? it tends to be very helpful with mental stability, which is why there are more and more companion bonds cropping up on the surface.”

”Why is that?”   


“HUMANS CAN USE MEDICINAL DRUGS TO HELP THEIR MOODS STABILIZE. MONSTERS ARE NOT AFFECTED BY SUCH DRUGS, SO COMPANION BONDS CAN BE VERY GOOD FOR MONSTERS WHO NEED EXTRA HELP TO GET THROUGH THEIR DAY.” Blue answered you. “BUT THAT IS ONLY ONE OF THE WAYS A COMPANION BOND FUNCTIONS.”

”there are benefits to companions being in one another’s company, but again, as you are human, we’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.” Sans’ grin twitched back to its default look. “and like a life bond, you’ll need to spend time together, but you can also go about your lives separately for longer amounts of time if you have an anchor.”

"What does that mean?" You asked with a frown, as Axe sat up on the couch. Maybe it was because you were human but the idea of suddenly having several partners you had to spend time with for your well-being was a lot to take in. And to find out that a companion bond seemed to be similar, though with only one other monster? “What is an anchor?”

“an anchor is someone who is tied to those involved in a companion bond.” Sans answered, eye lights flicking over to Axe. “it is something companions eventually find, so that they aren’t overwhelmed by emotions and ongoing empathy. it is not necessary for an anchor to be around all of the time, but it is usually good for them to be close enough in case of emergencies.”

"ON A POSITIVE NOTE, THE ANCHOR HAS TO BE CHOSEN BY BOTH YOU AND AXE." Blue patted your arm. "THERE WILL BE NO ACCIDENTAL OR RANDOM ANCHOR. IT IS INSTINCTUAL, SO YOU AND AXE WILL INSTANTLY KNOW WHO YOUR ANCHOR IS, WHENEVER YOU HAPPEN ACROSS THEM.”

"What if this...anchor, doesn't want to be one?" Wouldn't that be terrible? You didn't want anyone being tied to anyone unwillingly.

"AN ANCHOR IS AN ANCHOR BECUASE THAT INDIVIDUAL DESIRES TO BE SO IN THEIR SOUL." Edge said gruffly.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that, if I've never heard of these different kinds of bonds before?" Really, this was all new information to you.

Edge stared at you with narrowed sockets.

You look away as you gave the information some thought, aware of the way Axe slowly scooted closer until he was  against your side. You felt there was more to a companion bond than the skeleton monsters were letting on, but perhaps it was a cultural thing? Perhaps those instincts they mentioned were hard to explain to someone who didn't experience them?

Axe quietly took hold of your hand and gently traced his phalanges over your skin. You felt another twinge of sympathy over the sight of Axe still holding onto the tattered red scarf tightly in his other hand.

"Are there any other bonds?" You asked after a moment of watching Axe’s hand holding your own.

"a soulmate bond." Sans said softly. "it's not something anyone chooses consciously. it is your soul that recognizes its soulmate." Sans grin faded a little again. "it’s very rare, and despite it being insisted otherwise, it can be dangerous for those involved in one.”

"Why is that?" Wouldn't that be a good bond to have? You wondered if there would be even more bonds than the five. You hoped not, feeling as though you were going to have enough information to be looking into more closely at a later time.

“soulmate bonds are gradual, until the souls involved finally recognize one another.” Sans stared up at the ceiling. “it can take months or even years for a soul to call out to their soulmate. but since it is so rare, no one really knows if they will ever have one.” Sans eye lights fixed on a point in the ceiling. “not many monsters have experienced a soulmate bond.  if they do, the monster needs to eventually locate their soulmate, or they and their soulmate will become sick. this usually isn’t a life threatening illness, but it can affect the pair heavily, sometimes to the point of being unable to move. and if tthe bond is never made, it severs. if that happens, those involved feel as if they are missing something for the rest of their lives.”

”And If A Soul Bond Keeps The Soulmates Sick Without An End In Sight, That Is An Indication That The Bond Is Strong.” Blue picked up the explanation when Sans lapsed into silence. “If The Soulmates Are Unable To Find One Another In Time, The Weaker Of The Two Could Also Potentially Die. And The Survivor Will Be Unable To Hold On To Any Other Bonds.” Blue shifted on the couch uncomfortably with an unhappy downward tilt of his usual bright smile. “If They Happen To Have Other Bonds, They Risk Unintentionally Harming Other Bond Mates, As Well As Family And Friends.” Blue’s gloved hands gripped his pants. “I Knew A Monster Back Home That This Happened To, And It Broke Them. They Fell Down And Dusted Within A Month. It Took Their Family A Long Time To Recover."

There was a long, unsettling silence after that, before Sans seemed to snap out of his daze as his grin hitched back up.

”it’s getting late.” Sans’ hands slipped back into his pockets. “we should all get some rest.” The monster gave Edge a sharp look. “all of us. i think we’re gonna have an interesting month ahead of us.”

“What are we going to do about the sleeping arrangement?” You questioned, taking a quick look around. “There’s this couch, two chairs, and a futon. I’m going to take a guess and say there is only one big bed in this suite, and not everyone would be able to fit on it.” And you still don’t really know any of these skeletons, but you’d like to think that sleeping on a bed with one of them would be safer than trying the same thing with another human.

“I REFUSE TO SHARE A BED WITH ANY OF YOU.” Edge shot a nasty glare at Sans. “I DO NOT NEED ANY SLEEP AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME.”

”WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE BED LATER!” Blue's volume matched Edge's again, as Blue  hopped off of the couch.

You let out a startled laugh at the sight of Blue hoisting Edge into his arms, gleefully heading off for the bedroom while the scarred skeleton s pluttered. It looked so awkward for the shorter monster to carry Edge but Blue showed no signs of being weighed down.

”FOR NOW, LET’S JUST HAVE A SLUMBER PARTY IN THE LIVING ROOM!”

Edge let out a low growl of annoyance as he and Blue disappeared into the bedroom.

Sans wore an amused smile as he crossed over to the futon, using magic to open it up and reveal the bed inside. With a wink of an eye socket, Sans laid flat on the futon and went inert. 

With everything that had happened that evening in such rapid succession, you honestly didn’t know if you would be able to sleep. But when you saw red dusted across Edge's sharp cheekbones as he emerged from the bedroom carrying blankets in his arms, and Blue balancing a tall stack of pillows, you figured that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Axe surprised you by settling his body across your lap, lazily grinning up at you with a flicker of his red eye light.

“Off Of Y/n.” Blue said, as he dumped the pillows haphazardly onto the floor. “I Want To Make Use Of Those Couch Cushions.”

Axe gave an indifferent shrug, and you let out a gasp as you suddenly experienced that falling sensation, before you were on the floor amongst the pillows with a softly laughing Axe by your side.

Edge’s sharp teeth gnashed together as he stared at the way Axe rested comfortably against your side. With another low growl of irritation, Edge busied himself with the blankets, as he assisted Blue in making up a squishy nest of pillows, couch cushions and blankets that took up a good portion of the floor.  


Sans was still sprawled on the futon, his sockets somehow closed. When you checked on Axe, he similarly had his sockets shut. In that moment, you could clearly see the different energy levels of the skeleton monsters. It was obvious that Edge and Blue had much more energy to spare than Sans or Axe. It was kind of cute to see how focused the former two were, especially when they began to bicker about the placement of the various soft items.

”NO. THE CUSHIONS OUGHT TO GO HERE, TO BETTER PREVENT ONE FROM ROLLING AWAY.”

”BUT THEN WHY ARE THERE PILLOWS STACKED ON THIS SIDE, ON TOP OF THE CUSHIONS?”

”THAT IS IN CASE OF AN ENEMY ATTACK.”

”I DONT THINK WE WILL HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT.”

”NONSENSE. WHAT IF THERE ARE MORE MONSTERS LURKING AROUND THE RESORT THAT WE ARE UNAWARE OF? PRECAUTIONS MUST BE TAKEN."

”stretch and red are taking care of that.” Sans muttered from the futon. “neither of them wanted their little bros being subjected to another soul pain.”

Edge let out a huff but reluctantly allowed a slight alteration in the way the cushions and pillows were arranged, which pleased Blue to no end as he excitedly chattered away to the scarred monster.

”...looks comfy.” Axe murmured, as he half turned over to observe the other monsters. Axe stayed like that for a moment before he faced you again, but as he did, you could sense a deep grief coming from the skeleton . “...my bro loved making up a place to have sleepovers with me in our house.”

You wondered how much of it was the bond and how much of it was your own empathy as you wrapped your arms carefully around Axe’s narrow shoulders and hugged him agaisnt you. The monster gratefully sagged into you, seeming to take a moment to get himself together down before Axe pulled away.

”...m’sorry. for makin’ you sense my emotions like this.” Axe sighed against your shoulder. “...not pleasant, to be in my skull, with what’s left of it.”

”We’ll figure something out.” You said. “This whole bond thing is still pretty new to me.”

”...takin’ it pretty well, s’far as i can tell.” Axe flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling with a vacant look.

You sat up and studied Axe for a moment before you checked to see what your bond mates were up to. And pressed a hand over your mouth to stifle a laugh.

Blue had tackled Edge in the pile of soft pillows and blankets, laughing as the other monster spat out threats and curses before finally getting a firm grip on Blue and tossing the shorter onto the futon next to Sans.

”nice of you to drop in.” Sans said, without opening his eye sockets. “you two sure got a skele-ton of work done.”  


“Mweh.”   


Exchanging a look with Axe, who shrugged and rolled over onto a pillow, you stood up and approached the futon, hands on your hips.

”Oh, Y/n, We Finished Setting Up.” Blue told you with a bright smile. He sat up on the end of the futon to stare down Edge. “He Will Not Toss His Other Bond Mates Around Like That?”

Edge narrowed his sockets at Blue.

With a mischievous smile, you scooped Blue up and tossed him in Edge’s direction.

Edge automatically caught Blue before dumping him onto the now soft floor.

So Edge _did_ care but he was being gruff about it because of the circumstances.  


Got it.

Sans chuckled at your actions as Axe mirrored the laugh with a soft one of his own.

You let out a gasp of as you were abruptly hoisted into the air with magic and thrown across the room.   


“SANS! DO NOT JUST THROW THE HUMAN. THEIR REFLEXES ARE NOT WE GOOD AS BLUE’S.” Edge scolded as he easily caught you out of the air. As soon as he realized that he was holding you against his chest, Edge hastily dropped you on top of Blue, just as the shorter skeleton was making as if to get up.

You start to crack up at the absurdity and Blue joined you after a moment while Edge stormed off to the kitchen as he uttered cross words under his breath. As soon as your laughter died down, you noticed that you feeling more relaxed. 

“Y/n? Would You Be So Kind As To Let Me Get Up?” Blue asked politely, his skull dusted a light blue.

“Oh. Sorry.” You hastily moved to one side, laughing again when you slipped on a pillow and fell right back over.

“Maybe We Brought A Little Too Much Out.” Blue said with a smile as he offered you a hand.

“Hey Blue?” You took his hand so that you could at least sit up, but you held on as something occurred to you. For whatever reason, you really, really wanted to give Blue a hug. He gave you several already, so that kind of thing was acceptable, right? “Is it okay if I give you a hug?”

“Of Course You Can!” Blue looked ecstatic as he let go of your hand and immediately leapt into your arms instead.

You both toppled over onto the pillows and blankets.

So much for remaining upright.

But you gave the still-blushing skeleton a hug, snickering with him when Edge poked his head into view to scold the two of you.

”DO NOT ENGAGE IN SUCH ACTIVITIES IF WE ARE TO BE HAVING A SLUMBER PARTY.”

“...sure you’re not just jealous?” Axe questioned, lounging on a cushion. He had since haphazardly wrapped the tattered red scarf around his neck.

Edge wordlessly bared his sharp teeth before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Axe, amused by this, heaved himself up and settled back down near you, quietly watching you hold Blue until you finally let go of him.

”I...I Would Very Much Like To Have Hugs More Often.” Blue stammered. “F...For Bonding Purposes.” 

“will any kind of hug do?” Sans was suddenly there and giving Blue a hug from behind.

”My Brother Will Tell You That I Am A Very Tactile Monster.” Blue said, patting Sans’ arm. “So Hugs From Any Of My Bond Mates Is Fine. Why Do You Ask?”

“wanted to make sure to break the _ice._ we’re likely to be _snowdin_ here, so naturally, _avalanche_ you to play nice with your bond mates.”

Blue froze in place.

”course, there’s always a _flurry_ of things that could go wrong.”

”NO!” Blue squirmed in an attempt to flee. 

”no need to _give_ me the _cold_ shoulder. i am _ice_ , you know.”

You fought the urge to laugh as Sans continued on.

“maybe we should get some nice cream delivered. it’s _snow_ to be a hit. no _slipping_ around the issue of sharing a suite with one another. don’t want a _storm_ to brew between us and _freeze_ things over.”

Blue wore a strained expression as he attempted to wriggle out of Sans’ grasp, as if Blue were in physical pain from the onslaught.

Axe decided to join in on the bad jokes. 

“...blue seems to be headed down a _slippery_ slope.”

“nah, he’s had a _bitter_ time before things _froze_ over.”

“...he’s a-head of the game, huh?”

”no weather too chill for him, that’s for sure.”

”...do you think he’s heard from a cannibal who was all alone during the snowstorm?"

”nah, how could blue have heard from someone if the guy was all alone and cold?"” There was a brief pause. “what’d the cannibal say?”

”...nothing. he was _frigid_ because he had no _body_ to eat.”

“MWEH!” Blue finally freed himself and buried into the blankets near you. 

“NYEH!” Edge all but ran out of the kitchen and slammed some snacks and drinks on a nearby table as he glared at the two grinning skeletons. “THERE WILL BE NO PUNS OR BAD JOKES DURING THIS SLUMBER PARTY! I WILL NOT HEAR ANOTHER ONE OUT OF THE TWO OF YOU OR IT WILL BE OFF TO THE BEDROOM WITH THE BOTH OF YOU.”

”But if you make them go I'll be.. _.bonely_.” You toss in. 

Blue raised his skull with a sharp gasp as he fixed you with an absolutely betrayed expression.

”NYEHAGGGGHHH!” Edge let out in a vehement outburst, his hands thrown up in the air. "SEE HOW YOU ALREADY CORRUPT THE HUMAN WITH YOUR TERRIBLE SENSE OF HUMOR?"

Both Sans and Axe gave you a thumbs up with near-identical grins.

Oh stars.

Any lingering worries you might have had about spending a month with these monsters was slowly fading as you made yourself comfortable for what appeared to be an inevitable back and forth between the four skeletons. A motion out of the corner of your eyes briefly caught your attention. When you turned to look, there was nothing there. That was odd. You could have sworn you'd seen someone standing there. As you let your attention focus back in on the bickering match, but you couldn’t help but wonder if your eyes had played a trick on you.

Red.

Had that been Red, standing in the dark?

You could have sworn that you caught a glimpse of glowing red eyes watching you from the darkness, yet there had been nothing there. Yawning, and accepting a pillow that Axe passed over, you decided that perhaps that rest Sans suggested would do you some good.

"CEASE AND DESIST WITH YOUR TERRIBLE JOKES."

"you're breaking my heart here."

"YOU HAVE NO ORGANS!"

"Have Mercy, Sans, It's Late."

"hello, late, I'm sans."

You settled further into the soft bedding around you, and didn't even twitch when Axe relaxed alongside you with a chuckle over Blue dramatically groaning.

"...night, y/n." Axe murmured. "...your bond mates will settle down soon enough."

Apparently, one of those companion bond bonuses was being able to really calm down when in close proximity to one another. Between closing your eyes and sagging against a pillow, you were out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I wasn’t expecting these chapters to end up so long, but hey, more to read, right? And jeez, trying to explain some things is so aggravating at times, because I don’t want it to sound like an info dump. But at the same time I want the information included, and hopefully not in a too little or confusing way. (Aka at some point I might go back and tweak that portion of the chapter).
> 
> Next chapter: With the bond settling into place bit by bit, you go explore the massive resort and see what it has to offer. You also start to get to know your bond mates and Axe a little better, when they aren’t butting skulls with one another. And why, oh why, are there so many doors in this place, along with hallways that lead to nowhere and a suspicious amount of empty closets?


End file.
